AJ Pritchard has broken his silence on rumours that he is set to join this year's line-up on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! The former Strictly Come Dancing star is reportedly heading into the jungle, and when quizzed about speculation that he is "in talks" to tackle Bushtucker trials, AJ did little to quash them. Instead, the professional dancer admitted that if he were to appear on the show, viewers would be in for a treat.
AJ Pritchard quit Strictly after four years in March
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Speaking to Steph McGovern on Channel 4's The Steph Show on Tuesday, AJ opened up about his irrational fear of spiders. He said: "Well, let me put it like this, I’ve just cleaned out the loft as my mum has a list of jobs for us to do. The amount of spiders up there, I was screaming my head off. So, if anything like that did happen, it would be hilarious – that’s for sure!" AJ’s brother, Love Island’s Curtis Pritchard, added: "I would love to see AJ in a coffin, well not like that, I meant surrounded by animals, in a confined space doing a trial!"
Last month, AJ announced his shock departure from Strictly after four years, later revealing the real reason he decided to step away from the hit BBC dance series is because he wants his "own brand". The 25-year-old confessed that he "had no life" thanks to gruelling 18-hour days, so decided the time was right for him to step away. "I want to have my own brand and there were things I couldn’t do because of the Strictly brand and the time involved," he told the Sun. "It took up six months of my life, some days I would work 18-hour days because I was dancing and choreographing."
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AJ wants to have his 'own brand' with his brother Curtis
He continued: "I didn’t have a life and I wanted to be able to do more. I want to show people what I’m about — not just, 'Here’s my celebrity partner this year that I’m going to showcase.' I did have to turn down things in the past, which I was upset about sometimes, but I understood I was part of Strictly Come Dancing. Now I am going to pursue things I didn’t have the time for. It’s the right move." AJ also admitted he felt relieved to finally quit the show. He added: "It’s a relief to finally quit. If I didn’t further my development now, while at my peak mental well-being, I would regret it."
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