Tom Dean reveals why he needs Strictly to reinvigorate his hunger for Olympic medals

Tom, congratulations on winning gold at the Olympics! Did you not want some time off?

Tom: I always knew I was going to have a long break after the Paris Olympics. An Olympics cycle is always quite long, and it's a lot of sacrifice. You're in one place six days a week. I want to go to LA and represent Team GB there and hopefully win medals again. But to keep longevity within the sport, I need to do something different, because I want to get back to being really hungry for it. And this is about as far away from the pool you can get!

I said if the opportunity for Strictly came up, I'd 100 per cent love to do it. I've been using a whole different group of muscles for it. My shins are sore, and I've never been sore in my shins in my life. Swimming and dancing are both sports, but with dancing, you obviously have to add a bit more flair. When you're working hard in the pool, you can be grimacing, and no one will know! I'm going to bring the same training and work ethic, but instead of doing 5,000 metres in a pool, it's 5,000 steps instead.

Nadiya: It's way more than that!

When did you find out you were going to be on Strictly?

Tom: I was actually at Olympic training camp when I found out, and I called my mum. She was absolutely over the moon. Half of Maidenhead [where Tom grew up] is going to come along to watch a show.

Nadiya, is Tom taking home another win?

Nadiya: It's great to work with someone who has that dedication. We’ll take it day by day to make sure his ankles, knees, and feet are ready. You don't want to look at my feet – dancer's feet. Tom's feet are delicate. They need to be a bit tougher.

Tom: I've spent too long in the pool and not enough time on land! I couldn't be taught by anyone better – a world champion. With the ballroom stuff, because we're both quite tall, we can make it look quite flowy and float across the floor, which should be quite good.

Nadiya: I think he's going to look amazing in the ballroom hold. He's got these long legs that we're going to move around the Strictly floor. I was really surprised when he said his favourite dance was salsa. I was like, "Oh, I didn't expect that!" I'm excited about that.

You let it slip that you were going on Strictly while at the Olympics – how did that happen?

Tom: I was slightly distracted, because I'm pretty sure it was after we won the relay, and I thought it was going to be about race tactics. All of a sudden, they asked, "Are you excited about getting on the dance floor?" I just couldn't hold it in. I saw a few news articles and had a text from my agent... I was like, "Oh, am I in big trouble here?" Luckily, I didn't get too much of a telling off.

Have you had the fake tan experience?

Tom: Oh yeah! I'm never going to be super tanned, but we found that middle ground quite nicely. I was in a tent next to Nick Knowles. I just peeked around, and he was getting the full shebang. I only went down to the waist, and I could see him in his tighty-whities. I was like, "Whoa!"

What's your prior dance experience?

Tom: When I was four or five years old, I was in a ballet class with my sisters and I was the only lad. There's a video of it and I've got this white vest on, little shorts, and I've still got the ballet shoes. They're tiny. I was just tiptoeing along. All I remember is: "Good toes, bad toes."

Nadiya: Aw, my daughter dances and that's what she says!

Tom: When I'm out and about with my friends, a little two-step might come out.

Nadiya: I think it's amazing that a young man like Tom wants to learn how to dance.

A condensed version of this interview appears in the latest issue of Radio Times.

Strictly Come Dancing continues at 7pm this Saturday on BBC One and iPlayer.

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