CORONATION Street star Jack P Shepherd - who started acting at Bradford theatre school Stage 84 - could be foxtrotting across the Strictly dance floor this year.

Hit BBC1show Strictly Come Dancing is set to return to in October with a new line-up of celebrity contestants, and Jack, who plays David Platt in Corrie, is at 8/1 to take part, according to betting site Betway’s odds.

Other celebrities appearing in Betway’s 2020 line-up are Loose Women regular Stacey Solomon (odds-on favourite at 1/3), reality TV star Katie Price, radio presenter Chris Evans, comic Alan Carr, football stars Gary Linekar, Jamie Redknapp and Rio Ferdinand, former Corrie actress Michelle Keegan and Love Island star Maura Higgins.

It has been reported that the new series of Strictly will start at the end of October - later than its usual launch in September. Adjustments will be made in line with social distancing guidelines, and the run of the series is expected to be shorter than the usual three months.

Traditionally, the Strictly line-up is revealed in stages, on TV and radio announcements, from July, and the contestants are given several weeks to rehearse with the professional dance team before the series is launched. It is on the launch night that the celebrities discover who their professional partners are, and the series then gets underway in late September.

This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the show is likely to be different. According to reports, celebrities and professionals will isolate together, in line with social distancing regulations. And dancers Kevin Clifton and AJ Pritchard, two Strictly favourites, have both announced they won’t be returning this year.

The BBC said adjustments would be made “to ensure we deliver the high standards audiences know and love”, adding: “The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us.”

Jack P Shepherd, of Pudsey, joined Coronation Street at the age of 12 while he was a pupil at Stage 84 in Idle. One of his earliest roles, as a child, was in Oliver at Bradford’s Alhambra theatre.

As David Platt, the troubled son of Gail Rodwell, Jack is one of the longest-running actors in the much-loved soap. Since joining the cast in 2000, he has been involved in some of the soap’s most explosive storylines, not least serial killer Richard Hillman driving the Platt family into the canal.

In 2018 Jack won praise for one of the Street’s most controversial storylines, when David was raped by former friend Josh Tucker. Father-of-two Jack won the 2018 British Soap Award for Best Actor and the 2008 British Soap Award for Villain of the Year.