RIO Ferdinand spent most of his Manchester United career watching the likes of Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo dance their way around opponents.
Soon the nation could be admiring Rio’s own footwork on Strictly Come Dancing.
Gabby Logan, who came fourth on the show in 2007, said she was trying to convince her fellow sports presenter to take part in the juggernaut show after he was approached by the show’s executives.
Chatting to host Tess Daly, Gabby said: “I was trying to persuade Rio Ferdinand. You need to get your producers onto him. I almost had him.
“He said, ‘Did you really enjoy it?’ I said, ‘How often do they ask you?’ He said, ‘Every year’. He’d be incredible, and he’s a dancer!”
After Gabby told Tess that Rio attended ballet school as a child, Tess added: “He would have a natural grace. He’d make it look good. That’s a great starting point. Welcome Rio, 2021.”
Tess has hosted every single series of the show since it began in 2004, initially fronting it with the late legend Sir Bruce Forsyth, and then another legend: Claudia Winkleman. And Tess says she feels “very lucky” to have held the job for that length of time.
She told Gabby’s Mid-Point podcast: “The industry can be quite fickle. It can spit people out.
“My eldest daughter Phoebe, who’s now 16, is a visual reference as to how long we’ve been on air because I was pregnant with her Series One. So yes, it’s a long time.”
READ ON FOR MORE OF ANDY HALLS' BIZARRE COLUMN
Circle Em's va-va broom
YOU might expect to see Emma Willis teasing the upcoming series of The Circle – but maybe not playing the role of a janitor.
Show host Emma makes her unexpected cameo in a trailer for the Channel 4 reality game, which returns for a third series next month.
Still managing to look pretty in pink overalls, Emma said: “Just like The Circle itself, it’s pretty fun getting to try on a new identity.
“I loved having a sneaky little walk-on part in the trailer, though I probably won’t hold my breath for a Hollywood blockbuster audition.”
The Circle will kick off with a week-long all-celebrity edition in aid of Stand Up To Cancer.
ROCKY Flintstone, the writer who inspired the My Dad Wrote A Porno podcast, has teamed up with mortgage broker Habito to write an X-rated house-hunting tale.
The Road to Completion is available on Habito’s website or the Amazon Kindle store, with all proceeds going to the Terrence Higgins Trust.
Love Island doubt
GIVEN the public’s attitude towards lockdown-flouting influencers at the moment, perhaps it’s good news that Love Island may not be returning this year.
ITV chief executive Carolyn McCall has admitted the sun-kissed reality show, last on air in February 2020, is in jeopardy due to Covid-19 travel restrictions, which scuppered plans for its traditional summer series last year.
Asked about plans to film the sun-kissed reality show in the UK, as revealed in The Sun on Sunday, she told The Media Show: “I genuinely don’t know. We will want to put Love Island on air because it’s been off air for a little while. We didn’t do it last summer. We are looking at all our options at the moment. The pandemic makes it hard.”
Insiders have said resorts in Cornwall, Devon and even Barry Island are being looked at as alternatives to the traditional Mallorca villa where stars like Dr Alex George found fame.
ITV would be mad to even consider the UK for Love Island.
It just wouldn’t work.
Disney kid takes Mickey
YOUTUBE prankster Jake Paul is the bookies’ favourite to win his bout with ex-UFC star Ben Askren.
And the former Disney teen actor seems pleased that his professional opponent is the underdog.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Jake said: “It’s embarrassing for him. He’s going to get beat up by a kid who was on Disney Channel.”
Previously, Ben had warned that Jake was “going to wish he was still a Disney kid star” and predicted he will KO the young lad in the seventh round.
The pair’s pay-per-view fight takes place on April 17.
This fight will certainly be one to watch.
C4's new star
FORGET rebooting Big Brother, Channel 4 have found something to point a camera at with much more intelligence than the average reality star.
In new show Janis & Lucy, the broadcaster is to tell the extraordinary story of Lucy, the chimp raised as human in the US before returning to the wild. Student Janis Carter ended up living in Africa with Lucy for more than six years as she was taught to survive.
Exec producer Matt Cole said: “Janis has waited 40 years to tell this story. It takes us back to a very different time, but it has a powerful message for today.”
Is the message: get a hamster instead?
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