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'Strictly' contestant Jamie Laing revealed to have studied dance at university

'Made in Chelsea' star Jamie Laing has been revealed to have had dance training when he was younger, which may give him an advantage in the upcoming series of 'Strictly Come Dancing' (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)
'Made in Chelsea' star Jamie Laing has been revealed to have had dance training when he was younger (David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing may have an unfair advantage over his fellow celebrities when it comes to competing in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing next month.

Thanks to some resurfaced quotes from when he appeared on The Greatest Dancer podcast earlier this year, it has been revealed that the reality star studied theatre and performance while studying at the University of Leeds.

“Contemporary dance you can do anything you want,” the 30-year-old said during the chat with host, as he recalled his history with the art form.

“I feel like if you’re given some ribbons and you roll about on the floor, everyone is going to be like ‘that is contemporary’.”

Read more: Official 'Strictly' 2019 line-up

Although, he goes on to say during the same interview that being forced to train in contemporary dance actually made him regret ever choosing to study the subject.

“When it came to finally enrolling in my course, people had already picked what they wanted to do and the only thing that was left was contemporary dance,” he recalled.

“So for the whole first year I had to do contemporary dance. As I was the only boy, I had to be the bulb in the flowers and all the girls were petals.

“All of my friends were sitting in the front row and they were all laughing at me and I thought ‘this sucks’, so my experience of dance has been skewed a bit by that,” he confessed.

“It was the worst thing in the world, I’d wake up every day and think ‘why have I done this.’”

Read more: ‘Strictly’ star Joe Sugg asks girlfriend Dianne Buswell to move in with him in adorable vlog

Seeing as he’s signed up for new Strictly, it seems as if he’s found his enthusiasm for dance again though.

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2019/03/18: Jamie Laing at the Chortle Comedy Awards at FEST, Camden Town. (Photo by Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - 2019/03/18: Jamie Laing at the Chortle Comedy Awards at FEST, Camden Town. (Photo by Keith Mayhew/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Following the red carpet launch on 26 August, Laing will pair up with one of the BBC show’s professionals and compete against the likes of EastEnders actor Emma Barton, comedian Chris Ramsey and former footballer David James.

Other famous faces taking part include RuPaul’s Drag Race star Michelle Visage, YouTuber Saffron Barker, Olympic rower James Cracknell and Coronation Street actor Catherine Tyldesley.