Les Dennis was chomping at the bit to be chosen for this year’s Strictly.
The funnyman, 69, wants to try his hand at as many things as he can before he gets too old.
When word came through that he was in, his wife wept tears of joy – while he just hoped his knee replacement would hold up.
READ MORE: Strictly's Shirley Ballas issues stern warning as she shows off gruesome injury to fans
Les said: "I was in the mix for Strictly, and then I heard from my agent I’d got it, and I called my wife and she cried – but in a good way.
"She didn’t cry going, ‘Don’t do it!’"
He is ticking off new experiences as he reaches the end of his 60s. "It’s a big challenge,” he said.
"The last few years, I’ve had challenges just come out of nowhere, like I did my first opera two years ago at the RSC, with no training.
"So this is such a massive opportunity as I approach 70. I thought yeah, why not?"
Still on the wish list is a part in Hamlet, or perhaps Macbeth.
"I would love to do Shakespeare," he said.
Confessing he struggled to get out of bed the morning after his first Strictly training session, Les said his new knee is far better than his old, painful, arthritic one – so he won’t need to take it easy in the ballroom.
He said: "I can do all the dances."
When he had the surgery two years ago, it was under local anaesthetic.
"I stayed awake for it," he said proudly.
"I thought, 'I'll listen to what’s going on'.
"I could hear ‘bang, bang, bang’ – I thought somebody had put shelves up. Ten weeks later, I was rehearsing Hairspray.”
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on Saturday, September 16
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