Tom Dean awkwardly refuses to comment on Strictly Come Dancing appearance in BBC blunder

Olympic swimmer Tom Dean is remaining silent on the Strictly Come Dancing rumours.

Just days after the Olympic champion swimmer inadvertently hinted at his participation in this year's series, he faced further questioning about his potential appearance on the BBC dance competition. During an interview on Capital Breakfast on Tuesday, the 24 year old athlete appeared visibly uncomfortable.

Presenters Jordan North, Chris Stark and Sian Welby didn't miss a beat to question him about his premature disclosure, which breached strict BBC confidentiality protocols by revealing his involvement following his gold medal triumph for Team GB.

In a live interview earlier today via video link, the hosts sought more details about Strictly. "It's gone a bit quiet in Paris," quipped Jordan, with Chris echoing: "It's gone a bit quiet in Paris."

Kemi Rodgers chimed in with a playful observation of Tom's silence, suggesting it was a tell-tale sign, reports the Mirror.

"I'm just focussed on enjoying the Olympic moment right now and spending a lot of time with my teammates, and I'll see what the summer holds," Tom deflected.

Chris concurred: "Yeah, exactly. As I say, Tom just says it how it is. And I think what's hilarious is I never think you're meant to blab these things too early. You can get in loads of trouble for it, so I think he's just being super professional by not giving anything away on that."

"Of course. Absolutely. All about the Olympics," the swimmer confirmed, sparking intrigue. When Jordan chimed in on the Strictly speculation, he quipped that he might "see Tom there" to which North promptly responded that his presence was not on the cards, leaving Chris to jest: "Nor is Tom..." The Olympian insisted one last time: "I don't know what you're on about, I don't know what you're on about."

In an exciting reveal last week, Tom announced his intent to swap his swimming trunks for sequins on this year's Strictly Come Dancing. He wants to follow the swift footsteps of fellow swimming star Adam Peaty, 29, who impressed on the BBC dance show.

The announcement came hot on the heels of his astounding achievement, sprinting to the finals of the men's 200 metres individual medley at the Paris Olympics last Thursday. The Olympic champion sees Strictly as the perfect detour from the rigorous world of professional sports, seeking pearls of wisdom from Team GB comrade Adam, who secured ninth place in the 2021 series alongside his dance partner Katya Jones.

Tom divulged: "Naturally you want to take a break after you've had a full Olympic cycle and the opportunity arose. I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different. I'll be doing that and straight back into training after it. It's something to look forward to."

He also hinted at pairing up with his skilled colleague, stating: "I've not seen [Adam] yet. He did brilliantly on it so I'll be getting a few tips from him, for sure."

The decorated Olympian has reportedly confirmed that he's set to compete in the 2024 series of Strictly Come Dancing, which will return in the autumn season. Despite his prowess in the pool, Tom admitted to being out of his element on the dance floor.

Concerning his transition from water to dancefloor, he remarked: "I don't do too well out of water in gravity sports. I'm throwing myself into it and I know what a hard day's training is like so I'm looking forward to it. I guess we'll find out. It's something to look forward to and once I finish this, back home, relax a bit with the family and then we crack on end of August time. It's exciting."

At Tokyo 2020, Tom grabbed headlines by winning gold in the men's 200m freestyle; together with James Guy, Matt Richards, and Duncan Scott, they etched their names in the annals of Olympic history with another gold in the 4x200m freestyle relay.