Jamie Redknapp pals warn that he’ll be hit by Strictly curse as wife Louise aims to bring home Glitterball
Star teased by A League Of Their Own mates, with Jack Whitehall suggesting she could be paired with hunky Aljaz
WITH his glowing tan, tight clothing and nimble footwork on the pitch you would think Strictly Come Dancing would be right up JAMIE REDKNAPP’s street.
But the former footy star is becoming increasingly worried about his pop star wife LOUISE appearing on the BBC1 show — after pals started teasing him about the “Strictly curse”.
I revealed that the ex-Eternal singer had signed up to the dance contest earlier this month, but the ribbing began in earnest as Jamie filmed A League Of Their Own this week — with co-stars JACK WHITEHALL and DAVID WALLIAMS piling in, and even Jamie’s dad HARRY lining up a few potshots.
When the ex-England star admitted he hopes Louise gets “knocked out in the first round”, Britain’s Got Talent judge David said: “No, she will get knocked up during the first round.”
Comedian Jack was also keen to get in on the act and teased Jamie about the fact Louise could get paired up with hunky dancer ALJAZ SKORJANEC.
During a segment of the show which saw the stars tell ghost stories, Jack joked that the only thing Jamie should be scared of is Louise getting “a handful of Russian ghoulies”.
Perhaps realising Aljaz actually hails from Slovenia, he quickly piped up with another, adding: “I saw a great magic trick at a party the other day — a Strictly dancer made a wedding ring disappear.”
Jack and show host JAMES CORDEN later sang Jamie the Strictly Come Dancing theme tune as a way of putting him off a challenge in which he was made to zip-wire across the studio.
And Jamie’s football manager dad Harry couldn’t help cha-cha-chipping in, dropping hints about the Strictly curse throughout the show.
Jamie snapped back: “I expected it from them but I didn’t expect it from you.”
The last time a Wag appeared on Strictly was when ABBEY CLANCY waltzed home to hubby PETER CROUCH with the Glitterball in 2013.
Let’s hope Louise and Jamie, below, have just as good a result.
Darcey's judgement call
DARCEY BUSSELL isn’t sitting on the fence when it comes to who should replace LEN GOODMAN on the Strictly panel.
The fellow judge is backing ANTON DU BEKE over rival pro BRENDAN COLE.
Darcey said: “I think Anton would love it. He has done a lot on television.”
Yesterday, I revealed how Anton believes he has the backing of Len and former host SIR BRUCE FORSYTH for the high-profile role.
However, Brendan thinks he has the relevant experience as he was a judge on the New Zealand version of the show.
I’ve drawn up a handy list of who is rooting for each of the stars.
But former contestant RUSSELL GRANT doesn’t want either Anton or Brendan – he wants my good pal ARLENE PHILLIPS instead.
He said: “I think you’ve got to bring another woman in. Arlene has that wisdom and knowledge – the kind of temperament and gravitas Len has.”
It sounds like a pay rise may be in order for whoever does get the job, though.
When asked if the judges are paid well, Darcey said: “No. It’s the BBC. We are not allowed to be paid well.”
It’s probably still a fair whack above minimum wage.
