Will Bayley insists the ongoing Strictly Come Dancing controversy has not distracted him ahead of the Paralympics and that he would be delighted to spend time in the jungle upon his return from Paris.
The table tennis star tore a ligament in his knee during rehearsals for the 2019 edition of the celebrity dance show and is expected to suffer the effects of the injury for the rest of his life.
Bayley, a father of two, recently claimed there was “no duty of care” on the part of the BBC show’s producers after concerns were raised about the treatment of contestants by Amanda Abbington, Zara McDermott and Laura Whitmore.
It was important to the 36-year-old, who suffers from arthrogryposis, a congenital disease that affects all limbs, to share his experiences.
Still, he has not allowed the new interest in the story to distract his attention from his ambitions to win Paralympic gold again in the coming weeks. However, he remains open to another appearance on reality TV, particularly on ITV’s I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!
“I really enjoyed my time on Strictly, it was just the injury that happened and the issues afterwards with my rehabilitation and getting back into it that I struggled with,” Bayley, who worked with Janette Manrara, told the PA news agency.
“This injury will stay with me for the rest of my life. I will have it when I’m older too, and that scares me a bit because I have quite a severe disability anyway. That worries me a bit when I get older and have my children.
“But in terms of addressing the issues, talking about Strictly hasn’t distracted me at all.
“It’s important to share my thoughts because it could help people, and that’s exactly what I tried to do.
“And if I can do that while I’m in the spotlight, that’s a good thing. You can’t be afraid to talk and be honest, because that’s not how you get things under control.”
Bayley topped the Paralympic podium in the seventh grade competition at Rio 2016, but had to settle for silver at Tokyo 2020 after recovering from a serious injury sustained while jumping off a table.
As the reigning world and European champion, he travels to the French capital, where the competitions begin on August 29th.
When asked if he would consider another appearance on mainstream television after his ill-fated appearance on Strictly, Bayley said: “Oh yeah, definitely. I’d love to go into the jungle.”
“I think I have a better chance in the jungle than dancing because I can’t dance! It would be more natural for me.
“It would be a dream to be on it because it’s probably my favorite reality TV show. I’ve always watched it since I was little. That would be amazing.”
“We’ll see what happens – I have to try to win gold first.”
Bayley, whose daughters Bella (6) and Grace (3) are among his many supporters in Paris, had “I’m a Celeb” on his radar and didn’t take long to think about his biggest fear.
“Rats are the worst for me, just the long tails and stuff,” he said.
“My mother was always afraid of rats and I think that rubbed off on me. For me that would be horrible, a rat in the face or something like that!”
