Ed Balls has said he is relishing the chance to be doing something that “makes people smile” as he embarks on the Strictly Come Dancing live tour.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the 30-date tour, which kicks off in Birmingham on January 20.

The former Labour MP, who became a fan favourite during his time on the BBC One dancing show, said he hopes his return to the dance floor will bring joy to those in the audience.

Ed Balls and Katya Jones
Ed will be busting out the moves again on tour (Joe Giddens/PA)

He told the Press Association: “I reckon in life you’ve sometimes got to embrace new things and this is certainly new for me. But it’s been great fun.

“In politics, you do tough things and sometimes make very hard decisions, but I’m having a time at the moment where I can do things that make people smile.

“And maybe after the last year, where there’s been a lot of division and disappointment and problems in the world, maybe it’s good to let people smile a bit and hopefully they’re going to smile on the tour.”

Strictly Live Tour
The Strictly stars are going on tour (Joe Giddens/PA)

Ed will waltz across the country with other returning Strictly favourites including last year’s winner, sports presenter Ore Oduba, Birds Of A Feather star Lesley Joseph, former Eternal singer Louise Redknapp, soap star Danny Mac and model Daisy Lowe.

Former Strictly semi-finalist Anita Rani is the new tour host and she will be joined on the road by the judging panel of Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood – who also acts as the tour’s director – and former Strictly pro Karen Hardy.

Len stepped down as head judge of the television show at the end of 2016.

Strictly Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood
Len and Craig will judge on the tour (BBC)

Television star and barrister Judge Rinder will give his Manchester fans a treat as he joins to perform at all of the shows being held at the Manchester Arena, dancing with his partner from the TV series, Oksana Platero.

He will be delighting fans following news that Ed will miss the Manchester performances due to prior commitments.

Dance lovers will be able to see the BBC’s flagship TV show come to life at cities across the country, including Newcastle, Sheffield, Leeds and London.

Strictly Ore Oduba
Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton won last year’s series (BBC)

Ore, who beat Louise and Danny to win the Glitterball trophy, said he had been on “cloud nine” ever since winning.

Talking about life as a “champion”, he told the Press Association: “It has been wonderful, I haven’t come off cloud nine since Christmas. I think I’ve found cloud 10 actually because this tour has just made it even better, it’s wonderful.”