Rosie Ramsey is first contestant revealed for Strictly Christmas Special

Rosie Ramsey has become the first contestant to be revealed for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.

The podcaster will be partnered with professional dancer Neil Jones as she joins five other celebrity couples to compete to win the festive version of the popular dance show.

She co-hosts the award-winning podcast Shagged Married Annoyed with her husband, comedian Chris Ramsey, who competed in the 2019 series of Strictly, when he reached the semi-final.

When her participation was revealed on BBC Morning Live, she told the programme: “I watched Chris do it in 2019. I was insanely jealous. So as soon as I got asked to do this, I just grabbed it with both hands.”

She went on: “(Chris is) giving me tips and he’s just kind of understanding that it is difficult, but he could not dance at all when he started and he did so so well.”

She added: “(The training is) really hard. I have got so much more respect for anyone who’s ever taken part in the show over all of the years. It’s a lot. It’s a lot of cardio, let’s put it that way.”

Ramsey also hopes that having Strictly judge Craig Revel Horwood as a guest on her show might mean he will let her off “some dodgy knee turns”.

She added: “You never know with Craig, do you? You just never, ever know how he’s going judge it or whether he’s going like it or not.

“I watch the show with my seven-year-old, Robin, and he loves Craig, but he’s also terrified that he’s going to give (me) a really bad score.”

Ramsey said she used to dance in a cabaret band at holiday parks and was a Bluecoat at Pontins resorts.

She added: “I think… I can move my feet – let’s put it that way.”

– The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.