Kelvin Fletcher could be Strictly's ballroom blessing in disguise

Strictly Come Dancing 2019 has already got off to an eventful start, with one celebrity contestant stretchered off home and another summoned from the sequin-spangled subs’ bench.

Made In Chelsea’s loveable court jester Jamie Laing - heir to the McVitie’s fortune and fondly known as “Jamie Biscuits” on Twitter - badly injured his right foot during the launch show’s climactic group dance so can take no further part in the series.

From our brief glimpse of his hoofing talents, viewers aren’t missing much. Laing threw himself into things entertainingly but had all the grace, not to mention the sticky-out bottom, of a drunken duck mistakenly waddling into a wedding disco.

Now his replacement has been announced as actor Kelvin Fletcher. “Who?” will doubtless be the chorus from cynics but Fletcher is well known to soap opera fans, having played Andy Sugden on ITV’s Emmerdale between 1996 and 2016. Indeed, he’s a more familiar face than several already in the Strictly line-up, so it’s slightly surprising that Fletcher was in reserve rather than the first-team squad.

It’s possible that producers were wary of having too many soap alumni in the cast. With EastEnders’ Emma Barton and Coronation Street’s Catherine Tyldesley already signed up and looking promising, Fletcher is arguably one soapster too many. Yet the class of 2019 is already top-heavy with sporty types - James Cracknell, Alex Scott, Will Bayley, David James, Mike Bushell - and besides, BBC beggars can’t be choosers at this late stage.

What else do we know about Fletcher? Well, he’s 35, so sadly won’t make the youth-skewed roster much more age-diverse. He’s a Strictly fan, which always endears him to viewers. He’s a racing driver and all-round petrolhead, so expect cars to feature in one of those painful pre-dance VTs. He has two young children, Marine and Milo, so they’ll doubtless pop up to prove the cute factor. He also hails from Oldham, so will be keen to make it as far as the annual Blackpool special, 50 miles down the road from his home town.

Perhaps most notably, he’s quite the beefcake and clearly no stranger to the gym. He’s a rugby league fanatic and has the physique of a player, so expect skin-tight or see-through shirts, slashed to the navel - and, after a few weeks of teasing, Fletcher’s top to get removed mid-routine, possibly during the paso doble, and the judging panel to come over all a-flutter. Half the viewers will sigh and roll their eyes, while the other half secretly enjoy the whole pantomime.

Strictly devotees, however, will mainly just be relieved that popular professional dancer Oti Mabuse won’t be left high and dry without a partner. When Laing got crocked, the glitterball grapevine was abuzz with predictions that he’d be replaced by a female celebrity (actress Emily Atack was widely mooted) and Mabuse would be relegated to background duties, which would have been a dance dis-ah-ster. So would the rumoured arrival of rugby player James Haskell - the last thing this field needs is another strapping, lumbering sportsman.

Now Mabuse will be paired with Fletcher and has a fortnight to bring him up to speed before the first live show on Saturday 21st September. We’ll also still get to enjoy the intriguing sub-plot of how Mabuse will be critiqued and scored by her elder sister, new judge Motsi.

Fletcher’s choreographic ability is unknown but he’s been acting since the age of six, so will be much more comfortable with the performance element than unlucky Laing. The irrepressible Mr Biscuits brought jokes, japes and energy, but the chances are Fletcher will bring more to the dancefloor - which is what Strictly is supposed to be about, after all.

Oti Mabuse has gone from southern toff to northern tough. The late arrival of surprise package Kelvin Fletcher might just turn out to be a ballroom blessing in disguise.