Richard Madeley has said he has turned down the chance to be on Strictly Come Dancing because he would “look so stupid” wearing Spandex and doing the jive.

The TV star revealed he has been asked to take part in the BBC’s hit show on numerous occasions but always refuses.

While hosting ITV’s Good Morning Britain, he said: “I was talking to a booker from Strictly Come Dancing the other day because, for their folly, sometimes they ask me to go on it and I always say no.

“She was saying that more women celebrities say ‘yes’ than men, it’s much harder to get male celebrities to go on and do it.”

He added: “I wouldn’t do it because of the jive, I cannot conceivably come on in Spandex and Lurex and do the flick kicks – I would look so stupid.

“I would look stupid anyway, whereas a woman wouldn’t think like that.”

Strictly Come Dancing 2014
Kristina Rihanoff dancing with Simon Webbe (Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

Former Strictly professional Kristina Rihanoff admitted the famous men who take part do have a harder time than the women on the show.

She said: “Women are led. So our professional boys get the girl in the hold – of course they have to work hard – but at the same time it’s job halfway done because they are already in a beautiful hold, good posture and they are led.

“For the male celebrities it’s much more difficult because they have to lead, support, if they are doing a lift, it’s a lot of work, for the boys it’s very hard.”

She also argued that women are naturally better dancers, saying: “I think it’s all about biology; our centre is gravity is much lower than men’s so we have much better balance, it’s as simple as that.

“We are much more in tune with our emotional side and we are not worried about expressing ourselves so very much in tune with that, we can go on the floor and sway the hips, feel the rhythm and just go for it. We are built differently.”