Entertainment

Andrew Ridgeley talks about potential Strictly stint

The former Wham! star said he was ‘really tempted’ to hit the dance floor at one time.
The former Wham! star said he was ‘really tempted’ to hit the dance floor at one time. The former Wham! star said he was ‘really tempted’ to hit the dance floor at one time.

Andrew Ridgeley has said there is a possibility he could take up the chance to do Strictly Come Dancing.

The former Wham! star said he had previously considered taking part in the BBC One show but “just couldn’t take the leap”.

Ridgeley, 56, told The Times Magazine: “I was tempted to do it. Really tempted.”

Explaining why he did not hit the dance floor, he said: “I think at that time I hadn’t had a public profile for a long time. I don’t think I was ready.”

He said he would “possibly” consider it now if he were offered the chance.

George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley
George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in 1984 (PA)

Ridgeley rose to fame alongside George Michael in the pop group in the 1980s, but shunned the limelight for years after the band split in 1986.

In the following years he was often targeted with negative media coverage, of which he said: “It was a constant sort of gnawing away. Not so much at my confidence, but at happiness, or at least contentment, in the sense that it was just something that was a constant theme.”

Ridgeley – who co-wrote a number of the band’s hits including Wham! Rap and Club Tropicana, and Michael’s solo single Careless Whisper – said: “Almost anyone would have been overshadowed by (Michael’s) talent, but it was just a lot easier for the press to have a go at me.”

He added: “For a while, I really wasn’t fussed about having a public profile. I have come to the realisation that I am a lot more comfortable with it than I was.

“It’s 33 years since we drew Wham! to a close and a lot of people’s perspectives have changed and a lot of the rough edges have been knocked off.”

Ridgeley recently released his memoir – Wham! George Michael And Me – in which he talks about the early days of the band, his friendship with Michael and the 1980s pop scene that changed their lives forever.

Michael died on Christmas Day 2016 at the age of 53.