Who is Will Bayley? 2019 Strictly contestant and Paralympic table tennis player

7 September 2019, 16:30 | Updated: 10 September 2019, 16:35

By Alice Dear

@According2Al

Will Bayley is one of the many stars competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Paralympian Will Bayley will compete in the 17th series of Strictly Come Dancing this year as the hit dancing show returns to our screens.

During the launch show, we will get to see who Will is partnered up with, and even get a sneak peak into his dance skills.

Before he steps onto the famous dance floor, here is everything you need to know about the sportsman:

Who is Will Bayley and how old is he?

Will Bayley is a 31-year-old Paralympic table tennis champion.

Will suffers from arthrogryposis and started playing table tennis when he was a child.

In 2008, Will competed in the Summer Palalympics in Beijing, and in 2009 went on to win gold medals in the Czech and German open in 2009.

In the 2016 Rio Paralympics, Will scooped gold before famously being given a yellow card for jumping on the table tennis table in delight.

Who is Will paired up with on Strictly?

The Olympian has been paired with Janette Manrara.

Does Will Bayley have a girlfriend or a wife and has he been on First Dates?

Will’s partner is Fiona York, who the Paralympian has a child with.

While Will has now found love, he previously turned to Channel 4’s First Dates for help meeting the one.

While Will didn’t find love, and left his date as just friends, he has said it was a “great experience”.

When does Strictly Come Dancing start?

Strictly Come Dancing will return to our screens on September 7th with a pre-recorded show announcing the dancing couples.

The series will then officially kick off on 21st September where the celebrities will officially start to compete against one another.