Mike Bushell

The BBC Breakfast presenter is trading the newsroom for the Ballroom, adding yet another activity to the long-list of 550 different sports he’s test driven on air.

Even before his presenting days, Hitchin-born Mike fully embraced his active side, playing football, hockey and cricket at school, as well as running all the way from Yorkshire to Hertfordshire for charity as a teenager. But when a passion for acting saw him join the National Youth Theatre, he packed his bags for university to study theatre and television.

While studying in Winchester he began working at a local newspaper, kickstarting the journalism career that he’s sustained to this present day. In 2006 he joined BBC Breakfast, showcasing the variety of sports being played across the world, and has since reported for the Olympics, Paralympics, Winter Games, football World Cups, Commonwealth Games and many more global events.

Now he’s trading sports kit for spandex, but being Strictlified is not something he’s worried about. “Being on Breakfast I am used to being seen to and touched up. My hair needs regular taming, Bushell by name Bushell by nature!” he said.

Just wait until our costume and make-up teams get their hands on you, Mike!