I'll have a tango please Carol

Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman will be among the contestants on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

11:17 28 September 2004

Countdown presenter Carol Vorderman will be among the contestants on the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

"I'd been saying to friends how I'd wanted to take dance lessons for some time but couldn't fit it in with work, so this is the best of both worlds," said Vorderman.

Strictly Come Dancing was the surprise hit of the summer, with more than eight million viewers tuning in to see celebrities train with professional dancers and then vote on their final, live, performance.

The winner of the last series, Natasha Kaplinsky, has been lined up to present - along with Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. Kaplinsky is sharing the presenting duties with Daly, who is pregnant and will have to take some time off during the new series.

Vorderman will be joined on the live, reality, celebrity, interactive ballroom dancing contest by Esther Rantzen, gold medallist Denise Lewis and comic Julian Clary.

Others who have agreed to the new series include Songs of Praise presenter Aled Jones, athlete Roger Black and motoring journalist Quentin Willson.

Gardening presenter Diarmud Gavin, EastEnders Jill Halfpenny (who plays Kate) and Sarah Manners, Bex in Casualty, are also signed up to star.