Paris-bound Will Bayley puts aside Strictly controversy with jungle on wish list

Will Bayley insists ongoing controversy surrounding Strictly Come Dancing has not been a distraction ahead of the Paralympics and would relish a spell in the jungle on his return from Paris.

The table tennis star tore knee ligaments during rehearsals for the 2019 edition of the celebrity dancing show and expects to endure the impact of the injury for the rest of his life.

Father-of-two Bayley recently claimed there was “no duty of care” from producers of the BBC programme amid concerns raised about the treatment of contestants by Amanda Abbington, Zara McDermott and Laura Whitmore.

The 36-year-old, who has arthrogryposis, a congenital disorder which affects all of his limbs, felt it was important to share his experiences.

Yet he has not allowed fresh interest in the story to divert attention away from ambitions of reclaiming Paralympic gold during the coming weeks, while he remains open to another reality television appearance, specifically on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!

“I really enjoyed my time on Strictly, it was just the injury that happened and the problems after with my rehabilitation and getting back from it that I struggled with,” Bayley, who was partnered with Janette Manrara, told the PA news agency.

“That injury will stick with me for the rest of my life. I’m going to have that when I’m older so that causes a bit of anxiety because I’ve got quite a severe disability anyway, so it’s just a bit of a worry as I get older with my children.

“But in terms of bringing up the problems, it’s not been a distraction at all for me to talk about Strictly.

“It’s important to get my thoughts across because it could help people and that’s what I’ve tried to do really.

“And if I can do that whilst I’m in the limelight, that’s a good thing, rather than to be scared to talk and be honest about things because that’s how things don’t get sorted.”

Bayley topped the Paralympic podium in the class seven event at Rio 2016 but had to settle for silver at Tokyo 2020 after battling back from the serious injury, sustained jumping from a table.

He heads to the French capital, where competition begins on August 29, as reigning world and European champion.

Asked if he would subsequently consider another outing on mainstream TV following his ill-fated stint on Strictly, Bayley said: “Oh, yeah, definitely. I’d love to go in the jungle.

“I think I’ve got a better chance in the jungle than I do dancing because I can’t dance! It would be more natural to me.

“It would be a dream to go on it because it’s probably my favourite reality TV show. It’s the one I’ve always watched since I was young. It’d be awesome.

“We’ll see what happens – I’ve got to try and win a gold first.”

With I’m a Celeb on his radar, Bayley, whose daughters Bella, six, and Grace, three, will be among his many supporters in Paris, required little time to think of his biggest fear.

“Rats are my worst, just the long tails and stuff,” he said.

“My mum was always scared of rats and I think that rubbed off on me. For me that would be awful, a rat on my face or something like that!”