Former footballer Ashley Cain is reportedly on the longlist for this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
The 34-year-old started his career as a winger for Coventry City but retired early due to injury, moving into reality TV with appearances on shows such as Ex On The Beach and The Challenge.
More recently Cain has presented endurance challenge series Go Hard or Go Home and hard-hitting documentary Into The Danger Zone for the BBC, putting him on the radar of Strictly producers.
"He's a proper character with a very interesting background that looks the part," a source told The Mirror.
"He would be a great addition to the Strictly lineup. He's presented a couple of BBC shows and has really impressed."
Speaking previously to The Sun, Cain admitted that he is keen to take part in Strictly as a tribute to his daughter Azaylia, who tragically died of leukaemia at the age of just eight months old in 2021.
"Me and my family are known for dancing," he said. "That's what we do. When I had my daughter in hospital, when she was poorly, any time that she used to be feeling poorly or she was going through a chemotherapy, I used to hold her in my arms and I used to dance with her. And I'd dance with her for hours and hours and hours and hours.
"So something like Strictly would relate to me in a sense where I would love to do a Lion King-themed dance. I would love to be able to tell my story on such an amazing platform that could reach out to so many incredible people."
Other names linked with the show - due to launch as usual in September - include comedian Jon Richardson, presenter Stacey Solomon and A Place In The Sun host Craig Rowe. body check tags ::
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