Former JLS star Aston Merrygold has teamed up with Strictly Come Dancing champions Harry Judd and Louis Smith to form a new dance boy band.
The three ex-Strictly celebrity contestants are touring together in jukebox theatre show Rip It Up which will see them perform to some of the biggest hits of the 60s.
The Beatles, The Who, The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan will be on the menu for the trio as part of the 42-date tour as they are joined by a supporting cast of singers and dancers.
McFly drummer Judd danced to victory on Strictly in 2011 while Olympic gymnast Smith took the crown one year later. Merrygold crashed out of last year’s show in week six in one of the biggest shocks in the show’s history.
The tour will celebrate highlights of the transformative 60s including the first moon landing, the deaths of JFK, Marilyn Monroe and Martin Luther King, the rise of Beatlemania and England’s World Cup win.
Merrygold said he had some “unfinished business” in dance and was “excited to get to work alongside some familiar faces”.
Smith – who was joined by Natalie Lowe and Jay McGuiness on last year’s Rip It Up tour which celebrated the 50s – said: “Performing in Rip It Up last year was one of the hardest and most challenging experiences I have ever attempted, including competing at the Olympics.
“The fact that I jumped at the chance to be part of this brand new ‘60s version of it also shows how much I enjoyed the whole thing.
“I’m excited to be performing alongside Aston, especially as we grew up together, and equally with Harry.”
Judd said: “I love to dance. Along with playing in a band there’s no better feeling than to be on stage dancing.
“I was brought up listening to 60s music by my parents, which makes this whole show even more exciting for me to be a part of.
“Aston and Louis are both great movers so I’m looking forward to sharing a stage with them to put on the best show possible.”
Rip It Up will tour the UK from September 12 until October 31 with tickets on sale at Ticketmaster.