Robert Webb to compete in Strictly Come Dancing 2021
- Robert Webb will compete in Strictly Come Dancing's 2021 line-up
- He was revealed as the second of three competitors, out of fifteen in total, on The One Show tonight
- Webb won novelty dance contest Let's Dance For Comic Relief in 2009
Robert Webb will compete in the 2021 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
The nineteenth series of the celebrity dancing competition begins in September, and Webb was amongst the first three contestants revealed.
He was announced as a competitor on The One Show, alongside musician Tom Fletcher and TV presenter AJ Odudu.
A comic, writer and actor, Webb rose to fame with David Mitchell in sketch shows That Mitchell & Webb Sound and That Mitchell And Webb Look, plus cult hit Channel 4 sitcom Peep Show.
Turning 49 as the contest gets underway in late September, Webb told One Show presenters Alex Jones and Amol Rajan: "It's very, very exciting with a slight undertone of quivering terror!
"Did I ever expect [to compete] ... err, I dunno! ... It was always in the stars, it was going to happen."
In 2009 Webb competed in - and won - the first series of Let's Dance For Comic Relief with a routine based on Hollywood film Flashdance.
Webb, who is recovering after undergoing serious, emergency heart surgery last year, continued: "I suppose it is part [of recovering]. You get to a point in life where you think 'this is no time to be cool' and these experiences don't come along every five minutes so suddenly it felt rude not to [take part]."
He added: "I wouldn't say it's an obvious way to recover from heart surgery, they don't put it on the website!"
Fifteen celebrities are due to compete in the "full-length" Strictly Series 19 after 2020's competition was curtailed due to the coronavirus pandemic. It will launch in September on a date yet to be confirmed. The professional dancing partners of each competitor have also yet to be announced.
Previous comedians to have competed in the show include Seann Walsh, Susan Calman, and 2020 champion Bill Bailey.