Chatting to fans on social media from his car, he had vented: “I’ve just heard that Strictly, which is something that I’d absolutely love to do, won’t even have a phone call with me to see if I might be somebody who might be suitable for Strictly.
“And it is something that I would love to do, and not even offering me the chance to have a quick conversation and point out the fact that I haven’t got many years left in me.
“My body is falling apart, the guarantee is falling apart on various bits and pieces.
“I am running out of chances to do something that I would love to do, and my daughter would love me to do, and I think I would be really fun at… so could we start some kind of campaign?”
While he might not yet be on Strictly, his hugely successful Full Monty performance was far from a consolation prize – and, better still, it offered him the opportunity to raise money for charity in honour of his close friend who died of bowel cancer.
