Lee Ryan channels inner Patrick Swayze in new E4 show The Real Dirty Dancing
Published: 17:25, 16 February 2022
Updated: 17:26, 16 February 2022
Pop and television star Lee Ryan from Blue will be dusting off his dancing shoes for a brand new E4 competition show.
The singer from Chatham will compete with other celebrities to be named the best 'Baby and Johnny' in The Real Dirty Dancing.
Based on the 1987 film, the competition hosted by superfan Keith Lemon and Ashley Roberts from the Pussycat Dolls will see 10 celebrities channel their inner Jennifer Gray and Patrick Swayze.
The iconic dance routines like the Mambo dance will be recreated, with passion and chemistry tested as well as the dancing.
They will also need to replicate the romance from the film between Frances "Baby" Houseman and dance instructor Johhny Castle.
He will be put through his paces and challenged with treacherous lifts - competitive eyes are all on nailing that iconic overhead lift finale.
He is no stranger to the dance floor after competing in the 2018 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
However, his partnership with pro-dancer Nadiya Bychkova was short and the pair were the second to be eliminated.
So how confident is Lee heading into this new dancing challenge?
He said: “I always turn around and say I went out second in Strictly, so I can’t have been that good!
"But I’ve danced all my life with Blue.
"I was definitely trying to get that Patrick intensity into the dancing because that is what the whole thing’s about.”
Lee added that recreating the iconic Dirty Dancing water lift was a “great” experience but “really hard” to pull off.
He has been cast alongside fellow Strictly Come Dancing alumni Saffron Barker, Anthea Turner and Chelsee Healey, who will also give dancing another chance.
The Real Dirty Dancing begins on E4 on Monday, February 21.
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Laoise Gallagher