Lenny Henry has admitted that BBC bosses have repeatedly asked him to appear on Strictly Come Dancing, but he has always declined their offer.
The actor and comedian lifted the lid on his biggest fear about competing in the series ahead of appearing in Netflix’s new thriller, Missing You.
Hot on the heels of another Harlan Coben thriller adaptation, Fool Me Once, which became Netflix’s most successful show of 2024, Missing You arrives on New Year’s Day.
In the show, Henry plays the late father of protagonist Detective Kat Donovan (Rosalind Eleazar), who yearns to find out more about his death.
While the show has been described as Coben’s “darkest mystery yet”, there are also some scenes that are lighter in tone, including one in which Henry has to do some dancing.
Speaking at a live Q&A screening event ahead of Missing You’s release, Lenny said: “There is a legendary dancing scene – and I can’t dance at all.”
Revealing his biggest fear when it comes to appear on BBC One’s biggest show, he continued: “They keep asking me to be on Strictly, and I would literally let every black person in Britain down.
“But every wedding, funeral and birthday, people get up and do the Candy Dance – right? It’s in the script, and I just about remember it. We had to do this thing and it was a lot of fun.”
Speaking to Reach and other publications in an exclusive interview, Lenny Henry also merrily added that he had “no rhythm at all”.
This year’s series of Strictly Come Dancing saw comedian Chris McCausland lift the glitterball trophy alongside professional dance partner Dianne Buswell.
The 47-year-old, who is Strictly’s first-ever blind contestant, had an emotional reaction after the results were revealed live on air.
At the time, he said: “It’s astonishing. It’s – you know. I don’t know what to say. I honestly thought I could go out in the first week or two and I know no-one went out in the first week but I still thought I could.”
Chris then said “anything can happen” with “support and determination”, also taking the time to thank Dianne, who is celebrating her first win after making it to the final three times.
“She deserves this so much. She’s just honestly one of the easiest people to be funny with and, unless she changes her number, she’s stuck with me,” Chris quipped affectionately.
Missing You is available to stream on Netflix from January 1.