Participant No 3: Alison Hammond

Following the excitement of Tuesday when the BBC announced that someone's mum was going to be on Strictly, came yesterday's announcement that they've found there is still something left at the bottom of the barrel.

The BBC have finally admitted defeat, and employed a former reality TV star in Big Brother's Alison Hammond. Alison had the honour of sharing the Big Brother house with the late Jade Goody in Series 3, back when it was on Channel 4 and people actually watched it (sorry, James!).

Alison has done other things since, some of them not even reality shows. Most notably, she works as a showbiz correspondent on This Morning. No doubt, she’s familiar with the story of how Madeley turned down Strictly 1,352 times. So, you know, it could have been worse…

I expect that the BBC are looking for ‘bubbly’ Alison to get the regional vote like Lisa Riley, which, if she’s any good at dancing, could carry her through to the second half of the series.

Alison said: “I am absolutely overjoyed to be joining the Strictly team. I am ready to immerse myself in glitter and hard work, with a dash of fun along the way!”

At least Alison has done something other than Big Brother. She probably knows her way around an autocue better than Sir Bruce. It’s better than someone off TOWIE…