Joey Essex ‘lined up’ for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing cast

Joey Essex is apparently being ‘lined up’ for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing cast.

The Only Way Is Essex star turned reality regular is said to be in talks for the 2018 series.

It comes after Strictly signed a brand new booking agent for this year’s line up.

“We’ve only ever had one reality star and that was Mark Wright back in 2014. But there’s a different feel about the next series,” a source said this weekend.

They told the Daily Star on Sunday: “We’ve got a new booker and you only have to look at the stars she has picked for her previous shows to know she is a fan of reality TV.”

The insider insisted that nothing was official yet, but claimed Joey would be “perfect” for the BBC One show.

They added: “There’s still a lot of other reality stars in the mix before the final decision is made but Joey certainly knows how to turn on the charm.”

The tabloid reports that stars from other reality shows including Love Island and Made In Chelsea are also in talks.

“Everyone knows how huge it would be to get their client on to Strictly so it’s going to be in an interesting few months until the final decision is made in the summer,” a source said.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “We do not comment on speculation at this stage.”

While Strictly’s 2018 series still has a while to go before launching, a whole number of celebs have been linked to the series.

They include soap stars Chelsea Halfpenny and Hayley Tamaddon plus breakfast TV presenters Piers Morgan and Dan Walker, who front ITV’s Good Morning Britain and BBC’s Breakfast respectively.

More names Strictly Come Dancing bosses could sign include X Factor star turned TV host Rylan Clark-Neal and the 2015 Great British Bake Off winner Nadiya Hussein.

Hollyoaks star turned Oscar winner Rachel Shenton and The Chase’s Mark Labbett have also been tipped to take part in Strictly Come Dancing, alongside former England footballer David James and Actress Michelle Keegan.

Strictly Come Dancing will begin on BBC One in the autumn.

The line up is typically confirmed around August/September