John Torode explains why he turned down the offer to star on Strictly

MasterChef judge John Torode has no desire to put on his dancing shoes and step foot on the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom floor, he revealed on Sunday.

The celebrity chef, 55, explained to The Daily Star why he would never participate on the iconic BBC One dancing competition.

He said:‘They asked me – I’d love to dance. But I’m not doing it.

‘I’m not going to put myself under that sort of pressure. It’s not something I want to do… definitely not!’

John said he is happy focusing all of his attention on MasterChef as he has no plans to compete on a reality show any time soon.

Despite admitting that he loves Strictly, the 55-year-old might have been put off by his co-star Greg Wallace’s anxiety-ridden appearance on the show.

The fellow MasterChef host, 56, bravely admitted he was so racked with fear and anxiety ahead of his first performance on the 2014 series, that he sought the help of a hypnotherapist.

He told The Express: ‘I was suffering from so much stage-fright and severe anxiety that, on Saturday morning, I cried out of fear and desperation. It was absolute terror that I couldn’t overcome.’

In a bid just to keep going, he met with a psychological professional, who helped him focus on positive thinking.

But the main problem for Gregg was his fear of being judged.

‘All that kept going through my head was, “I am going to look stupid.” I just couldn’t control that fear,’ he said. ‘I can empathise with MasterChef contestants now. I never knew what they were suffering. I now know it’s OK to mess up, it’s OK to be scared.’

Sadly he and his partner Aliona Vilani were kicked out of the competition first – although he insisted his departure was a relief.

‘I wasn’t good at it,’ he added. ‘I have to say, it’s the most terrifying thing I’ve ever done.’

Along with Gregg and Aliona, Mrs Brown’s Boys star Jennifer Gibney and professional partner Tristan MacManus were the first two couples to face a ‘dance-off’ on the hit BBC One show.

They were selected as the lowest scoring of the 15 celebrity couples taking part in the series.

Disappointed by the news that he would be dancing to try and keep his place in the competition so early on in the series, Gregg said: ‘There are some amazing dancers in this competition so I’m not surprised. I had no ambitions of winning it.’