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Ed Balls has revealed he got the Prime Ministerial seal of approval for Strictly Come Dancing after Gordon Brown wished him good luck

Former shadow chancellor admitted he was pleased as he had assumed his old boss thought he was 'mad'

ed balls

ED Balls has revealed that Gordon Brown has given him the seal of approval for Strictly Come Dancing.

The former shadow chancellor received a good luck email from the ex-PM, and admitted he was pleased as he had assumed that Mr Brown thought he was "mad".

Ed Balls and his partner Katya Jones on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing
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Ed Balls and his partner Katya Jones on the new series of Strictly Come DancingCredit: PA
He said he has the approval of former PM Gordon Brown
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He said he has the approval of former PM Gordon BrownCredit: PA

He told Radio Times: "Gordon sent me an email yesterday saying, 'Congratulations on Strictly, the whole nation is enjoying every minute of it'.

"I had thought he was sitting there thinking 'Oh my God, he's mad'.

"So it was nice that the email actually said, 'You go for it'."

The ex Labour MP said he was worried his old boss would think he was "mad"
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The ex Labour MP said he was worried his old boss would think he was ";mad"Credit: PA

The ex-politician made his Strictly debut on the launch show earlier this month when he was paired up with professional dancer Katya Jones, and he is now in training for the live shows.

But his attempts to sidestep the sparkles and sequins have already been thwarted.

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Mr Balls said: "I spent the whole week saying, 'I'm not having any sparkles, I don't think it's me', and then just before the launch dance they said, 'You are going to have to change your shirt', and it had sparkles all over it.

";My shirt made me look more like a beer barrel than a dancer. In retrospect the hoops on it were a mistake."

Mr Balls served in Mr Brown's Cabinet when they were both still frontline politicians
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Mr Balls served in Mr Brown's Cabinet when they were both still frontline politiciansCredit: PA
The 49-year-old admitted the "hoops were a mistake" in his opening night outfit
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The 49-year-old admitted the "hoops were a mistake" in his opening night outfitCredit: PA

He added: "Someone on Twitter said the wardrobe department just went, 'Sod it, darts player'."

Mr Balls suggested he is unlikely to be too upset by any negative comments about his moves on the BBC show.

"In politics you need a Goldilocks skin. Not too thick, not too thin," he explained.

"Because if you're thin-skinned then you can't survive, but if you're thick-skinned, you become inhuman and insensitive."

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