Olympic star breaks huge Strictly Come Dancing rule by confirming they are joining new series before official announcement

ok.co.uk:

Tom Dean, the 24-year-old swimming champion, shared his plans to join Strictly Come Dancing later this year after his impressive show at the Olympics in Paris this week.

Stepping into team mate Adam Peaty's dancing shoes, who competed on BBC's popular dance competition in 2021, Tom confirmed his participation soon after he secured a place in the men's 200 metres individual medley finals - despite the BBC show usually enforcing a blanket ban on any line-up announcements before the official launch.Taking inspiration from his Team GB companion Adam, 29, who enjoyed a successful stint and finished ninth alongside Katya Jones on the show in 2021, Tom said: "Naturally you want to take a break after you've had a full Olympic cycle and the opportunity arose.

I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different. I'll be doing that and straight back into training after it.

It's something to look forward to." Expressing his enthusiasm for the show, he said: "I've not seen [Adam] yet. He did brilliantly on it so I'll be getting a few tips from him, for sure." Tom is reportedly the first celeb to confirm his spot on the 2024 series, which will mark 20 years of the show and is set to hit our screens in autumn.