Ramprakash to appear in Strictly Come Dancing

Mark Ramprakash, the Surrey and former England batsman, is to appear as a contestant in the new series of BBC's Strictly Come Dancing in October.

The show, which Darren Gough won last year, is fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly and returns to Saturday nights next month. Ramprakash's prolific form for Surrey this season prompted certain sections of the media to suggest he could be called up for England's Ashes squad, but he was overlooked.

Gough, who had never danced before, said "I started with nothing and I have worked myself up to something decent" when he and his partner, Lilia Kopylova, won last December.

Ramprakash is joined by the former England rugby player Matt Dawson; the BBC newsreader Nicholas Owen; Emma Bunton, the former Spice Girl; Peter Schmeichel, Manchester United's former Danish goalkeeper and the comedian Jimmy Tarbuck among others.

"With a line-up like this, the new series is set to be bigger and better than ever before," Daly said in a press release. "Where else could you see a Spice Girl dancing alongside Jimmy Tarbuck?"