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Strictly Come Dancing 2015 contestants: Ainsley Harriott confirmed to Salsa on BBC1 show

'In my day job the only type of Salsa I know about is the one in my recipes'

Wednesday 12 August 2015 08:34 BST

Ainsley Harriott will be getting his Salsa on in Strictly Come Dancing (BBC)

Ainsley Harriott is to trade his chef's hat for a pair of dancing shoes this autumn.

The celebrity chef will join Jeremy Vine on Strictly Come Dancing as the second confirmed contestant.

News of Harriott, 58, joining the series was announced on The One Show.

The chef, who loves to glide around the kitchen as he cooks, said: “I must admit that I do love to dance, but doing it in front of the nation is a whole different matter.

"In my day job the only type of Salsa I know about is the one in my recipes so I am looking forward to rising to the challenge, bring it on!”

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Show all 12

1/12Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Caroline Flack

Caroline Flack triumphed ahead of Frankie Bridge, Mark Wright and Simon Webbe to lift the 2014 Glitter Ball trophy with Pasha Kovalev.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Abbey Clancey

Model Abbey Clancy won the 2013 series with her dance partner Aljaz Skorjanec.

BBC

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Louis Smith

Last year's winner was Olympic gymnastics bronze medallist Louis Smith, who took part fresh from the glory of the London games. He won Strictly with Flavia Cacace after Girls Aloud's Kimberley Walsh, Denise Van Outen and Danni Harmer challenged him in the final.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Harry Judd

McFly drummer Harry Judd and his partner Aliona Vilani took the trophy in 2011 after seeing off competition from Jason Donavan. He had previously won a Children in Need special of Strictly, in which he beat The Saturdays' Rochelle Wiseman to the title.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Kara Tointon

EastEnders star Kara Tointon was the second actress to win Strictly in 2010, partnered with debut professional Artem Chigvintsev. She has appeared in Pygmalion in the West End with Rupert Everett.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Chris Hollins

News presenter and sportsman Chris Hollins won in 2009 with Ola Jordan to beat actor Ricky Whittle to the crown. He managed to avoid the dance-off for the entirety of his run. He presented the BBC Breakfast sports news while appearing on Strictly.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Tom Chambers

Holby City actor Tom Chambers won in 2008 with Camilla Dallerup, who was competing in her last series of the show. Model Lisa Snowdon and S Club star Rachel Stevens lost out in the final. He currently stars in the West End.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Alesha Dixon

Singer and former Strictly judge Alesha Dixon was crowned champion of the 5th series in 2007. She won with Matthew Cutler after a close final with Matt Di Angelo. She holds the record for the highest average score in Strictly history with 36.5, despite never achieving a perfect 40 points. She joined the judging panel from 2009 to 2011 and is now on Britain's Got Talent.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Mark Ramprakash

Proving that cricketers can flourish on Strictly, Mark Ramprakash followed Darren Gough's footsteps to win Strictly in 2006 with dance partner Karen Hardy. Rugby player Matt Dawson lost out to him in the final.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Darren Gough

Cricketer Darren Gough won the third series with Lilia Kopylova, defeating athlete Colin Jackson and presenter Zoe Ball. Gough never finished top of the judges' leaderboard but was still crowned champion by the public! He now co-presents a talkSPORT radio show.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Jill Halfpenny

EastEnders actress Jill Halfpenny won the second 2004 series with Darren Bennett after beating off competition from comedian Julian Clary and Olympian Denise Lewis. She still holds the highest score for a Jive in Strictly history, scoring the full 40 points from the judges. She now has a West End theatre career.

Strictly Come Dancing past winners

Natasha Kaplinsky

Newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky was the first winner to lift the glitterball trophy with her dance partner Brendan Cole in 2004, beating EastEnders actor Christopher Parker in the final.

Harriott presented hit BBC One cookery show, Ready Steady Cook for 16 years from 1994 until 2010 and said Vine would be a worthy competitor.

“Jeremy has got this wonderful discipline about him. Everything he does is structured and he plans it.”

Read more: Petition launched to put Ainsley Harriott on £20 note

“When it comes to dancing it is about the discipline and how much effort you put in. If you put the time in then you can be a bit more expressive,” added Harriott.

Harriott, who revealed he hadn't been told who his partner would be yet, has been priced as the outsider at 66-1 by bookies.

Vine had his odds slashed to 25-1 after the announcement of Harriott's involvement.

The 13th series of Strictly Come Dancing will begin in September.

With additional reporting from the Press Association.

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