Stephen Fry says he'd never appear on 'Strictly' because dancing makes him 'cringe'

Stephen Fry has shot down the possibility of him ever taking part in a series of Strictly Come Dancing, saying that he “can’t bear” to watch other people trip the light fantastic.

Talking to the eponymous host on an upcoming episode of The Jonathan Ross Show, the former QI presenter said he’d never don the spandex outfits on the BBC competition series when asked if it was something he’d be interested in.

“Dancing is not my world at all,” the 62-year-old explained. “I loathe dancing. It embarrasses me. Not only to do it but to watch other people do it. I can’t bear it, I just can’t bear it.

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“The Strictly type thing I find absolutely nails on a blackboard. It’s an allergy. I can’t bear dancing. It makes me cringe.”

Ross’s question was prompted by Fry’s recently weight loss and new healthy living regime, which he touched on briefly during the interview.

“I was very overweight; 21 stone. I lost nearly six of those. I’m feeling better,” the Blackadder star added, before saying that he tends to try and walk eight miles every morning nowadays.

“In the end you are either a lark or an owl. I have to get up really early. Sometimes as early as literally half past three in the morning, and I’ll go to bed at six in the evening. It’s completely bonkers. That’s the way I work. Mental energy. I droop at the end of the day.”

During his walks, Fry says he listens to audiobooks or podcasts rather than music, because he finds that when he opts for the latter, he tends to stop every ten yards to “adjust his playlist.”

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Later, he recalled the time he discovered he was “awful at everything that made children popular or successful” at school.

“Sport, I couldn’t run in a straight line. I couldn’t catch. I couldn’t throw a ball. I couldn’t swim until I was about 12. I couldn’t paint or draw, I couldn’t sing, I certainly couldn’t dance. But I discovered that, unlike most children my age, I was fascinated by language or stories.”

The Jonathan Ross Show continues on Saturday 14 September at 10:15pm on ITV.