Widdecombe rejects TV dance show

Ms Widdecombe is a reality TV veteran

Ann Widdecombe has battled the pounds on Celebrity Fit Club, been a TV Agony Aunt and even let Louis Theroux and his cameras into her home.

But the Tory MP drew a line in the lacquered floor when it came to the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing.

She said it was a "fantastic" programme which she adored.

"But I could not see myself at 5ft 1in and overweight cavorting round the dance floor with one of those elegant mortals that we see," she said.

People would have loved the spectacle, she admitted, but all for the wrong reasons.

'Back stabbing'

Ms Widdecombe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme she had also turned down requests for her to appear on Big Brother and I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here.

She said Respect MP George Galloway had been "incredibly naive" to enter the Celebrity Big Brother House and expect to be able to get his political message across.

"That's not what the programme makers are remotely interested in," she said.

I told Celebrity Fit Club if you think I'm appearing in front of 8m people in my bathing costume, forget it Ann Widdecombe

Instead of having long political discussions about Iraq and Palestine with his housemates, Mr Galloway had to pretend to be a cat licking milk from actress Rula Lenska's hands and dance in a red leotard.

Ms Widdecombe said people watching the show knew nothing about what he stood for.

"They do know that he was saying one thing and doing the other, striking up friendships and then stabbing in the back. And people think: 'Ah yes, that's what politicans do.' Actually, it's not what most of us do."

Ms Widdecombe argued it was fine to decide to go on reality shows.

"But you really do have to choose fairly carefully what you are doing and agree terms at the outset - and from his experience it looks to me he did neither of those things."

On Celebrity Fit Club, she had agreed at the start she would not do anything she did not want to do.

"For example, when they decided to go swimming, I said: 'Oh no, I love swimming but if you think I'm appearing in front of eight million people in my bathing costume, forget it."