Swansea East MP Carolyn Harris says appearing on Strictly Come Dancing is on her 'bucket list'

  • Swansea East MP and Welsh Labour Deputy Leader Carolyn Harris caught up with Rob Osborne

The Labour MP Carolyn Harris has told ITV Wales that appearing on Strictly Come Dancing is on her "bucket list", revealing that she used to be a ballroom dancer.

Speaking to the programme Sharp End, the Swansea East MP said that she'd "love" to get a call from the show's producers.

When asked who her dream partner would be, she said: "You've asked something I've thought a lot about. You know like people have a wedding file? I've got my Strictly file."

"It would have been Brendan Cole, but he's gone now. Anton's gone on the judging panel, so he'd have to come off that to be my partner."

She added: "The Christmas special would do me fine until I retire, and then I'm ready. But I don't want to be Ann Widdecombe, I want to do it properly, oh yeah, I can do all those dances.

"I like the Samba, I like the Rumba, I like Latin more than modern, although I do like a nice American Smooth."

The Labour MP spoke about her high-profile friendships, having been asked whether she had friends in the Conservative Party, as well as any "showbiz" pals.

  • Watch the full interview with Carolyn Harris MP from Sharp End

She said she's in a "brilliant" WhatsApp group with Davina McCall, Mariella Frostrup, Gabby Logan, Lisa Snowdon and Penny Lancaster that's related to her menopause work.

"There have been Labour MPs in the past who have said they could not be friends with a Tory. Could you be friends with a Tory?" Rob Osborne, the presenter of Sharp End, asked Ms Harris.

"I've got friends on the Tory benches," she replied, naming Iain Duncan Smith as among them.

"If Iain ever phones the house, or phones my mobile and my husband answers it, he's like, 'It's IDS on the phone! It's IDS!' which is really funny."

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The MP also opened up about the demands of being a politician and the criticism she receives on social media.

She said: "It's psychologically demanding as well. You've only got to look at Twitter and all social media outlets to realise how painful it can be sometimes."

She continued: "It will always be about how I look. Always. It will always be about the colour of my hair, it'll be about how fat I happen to be at that time, what I'm wearing, it's always about my appearance."

"You always think, 'Do I really look like that?' Of course it gets to you."

Carolyn Harris has been MP for Swansea East since 2015. Credit: PA

She touched on the personal challenges she has faced and the "imposter syndrome" she sometimes feels in her role.

She said: "I've gone through a lot in my life. I mean, the worst thing that could ever happen to anyone is losing a child, I've been there.

"And I think I've got a mindset now that nothing else could ever hurt me that much. So I've got a little bit of a shell because of that.

"Very few people really know me. I know me, my close friends know me, my husband and my children know me. But the real me is quite shy, very insecure and thinks every day, 'How on earth did I end up here?'"

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