Lee Ryan: ‘I only got Strictly because of my stint on EastEnders’

Lee Ryan

by Hollie Richardson |
Updated on

The Blue singer has said he might return to EastEnders after Strictly Come Dancing...

Lee Ryan has swapped the Square for sequins as he prepares to take to the Strictly dance floor, but he's hinted at making a return to EastEnders after his last dance.

Lee has played Harry 'Woody' Woodward in a regular role since 2017.

Speaking at the launch of Strictly, he said: "When I left, they said they’re going to keep it open for me to come back, so who knows...

"But I’m doing other stuff now, I’ve got a film that I’m working on."

Lee Ryan
©BBC

He then explained that he probably only got the Strictly gig because of his time on the soap.

He added: "There’s so much opportunity that’s come off the back of EastEnders. To be honest with you, I think that’s the reason I got this. So it led on quite naturally."

Lee Ryan Blue
©Shutterstock

Lee first came to our attention in boyband Blue in the early noughties. His bandmate Simon Webbe was runner up in 2014 when Caroline Flack won.

Lee - who also starred in CBB and represented the UK with Blue in the Eurovision Song Contest - revealed Simon told him to 'just enjoy the experience' during his time on the show.

GALLERY: Who will win Strictly Come Dancing 2018? We rank the contestants from fabulous to flop

Gallery

Strictly Come Dancing 2018 contestants RANKED- closer STACKED

15th - Susannah Constantine1 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

15th - Susannah Constantine

Poor old Susannah was first to be booted off the show - and was not pleased at all,allegedly throwing a hissy fit behind the scenes.

14th - Lee Ryan2 of 15

14th - Lee Ryan

Alas, it wasn't meant to be for poor old Lee, who finished in 14th place.

1st - Katie Piper3 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

13th - Katie Piper

We'd picked Katie as a winner before the series started, but unfortunately she was booted off in the fourth week.

6th - Vick Hope4 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

12th - Vick Hope

Poor Vick and her Italian stallion dance partner Graziano Di Prima were fourth out, in a controversial dance-off against Seann Walsh and Katya Jones.

Graeme Swan5 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

11th - Graeme Swan

Cricketer Graeme Swan says: "I don't have any background in dancing but can do the floss so let's hope this comes in useful!" We don't have high hopes for Graeme Swan. We are also not 100% confident of who Graeme Swan is.

14th - Joe Sugg6 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

10th - Joe Sugg

A YouTuber on Strictly! Whatever next! Unless your preteen kids have access to the phone to vote (and we recommend that they do not), he hasn't got a chance.

13th - Kate Silverton7 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

9th - Kate Silverton

Dancing is a long way away from Kate's work as a newsreader, and we're not convinced there's an overlap between the professions...

13th - Seann Walsh8 of 15

8th - Seann Walsh

Seann caused possibly the biggest Strictly stir ever after kissing his dance partner Katya Jones while he was in a relationship and she was married. Later, his girlfriend released a statement with possibly the FIERCEST takedown of an ex the world has ever seen. We'd assumed all the drama would mean he'd be booted off straight away, but shocked us all when he was saved by the public. Everyone loves a drama, so we think he'll survive the next few weeks, at least...

10th - Ashley Roberts9 of 15

7th - Ashley Roberts

Yes! We know! We are all too aware that Ashley Roberts is already a dancer, so at first glimpse seems to have an unfair advantage over her other fellow contestants. This is something that the public are all to aware of, too, so will that stop them from voting? We think possibly...

11th - Danny John-Jules10 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

6th - Danny John-Jules

Danny has spent the last few months "on two wheels motorcycling around South America in pink leathers", which doesn't sound like the best of warm-ups for a dancing show...

8th - Charles Venn11 of 15

5th - Charles Venn

Casualty star Charles gets our vote for his biceps alone, and we're predicting he'll be a bit of a surprise frontrunner this series.

7th - Faye Tozer12 of 15

4th - Faye Tozer

Having been a member of Steps, we're guessing Faye is already at least 'alright' at dancing. Which is more than can be said for many on the list.

4th - Stacey Dooley13 of 15

3rd - Stacey Dooley

Despite the fact that Stacey is a journalist and film-maker and in no way a professional dancer, we can imagine her taking everyone by surprise and going the whole way. She will come third, we know it.

3rd - Doctor Ranj14 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

2nd - Doctor Ranj

Everyone's favourite doctor / general person in the world Dr Ranj will 100% go the distance. As well as (we're predicting) surprisingly good dancing skill, he has the personality to be a finalist.

2nd - Lauren Steadman15 of 15
CREDIT: BBC

1st - Lauren Steadman

Paralympic Triathlete Lauren is as inspirational and likeable as she is sporty - which is a perfect combo for Strictly success. She'll go far.

He also said that controversial judge Craig Revel Horwood is 'like a headteacher' so he'll be too scared to give him any backchat!

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The 35-year-old singer and actor concluded: "It’s nice to be able to say that I was on one of the biggest soaps that ever existed and now I’m on the biggest shows on TV."

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