'Bad boy of ballet' Sergei Polunin wants to be Strictly judge 'one day'

The BBC1 show is currently searching for a new judge after veteran ballroom expert Len Goodman bowed out.

Sergei, who shocked the dance world when he quit the Royal Ballet after becoming its youngest principal, said that he is open to joining the hit TV series.

“I think Strictly Come Dancing is popularising ballet. It’s a very good thing. It’s one of the things that shows dance can sell,” he told the Press Association.

“Darcey Bussell’s doing an amazing job. She’s promoting dance”, he said of the prima ballerina turned Strictly judge.

Asked about the possibility of following in her footsteps and becoming a judge himself, Polunin said that he was keen but had other plans for the immediate future.

“Not for now, no. Maybe later. I would love to do it one day,” he said.

The Ukraninan-born dancer, who was dubbed a “bad boy” for taking drugs and covering his body with tattoos, is having talks with the Royal Ballet about returning for a one-off performance at the Covent Garden venue that he once walked out on.

But Sergei, whose life has been followed for a new documentary Dancer, said that he was “not sure if it will happen because I do criticise things.

“It’s not necessarily that I mean bad … I think they’re one of the best companies in the world,” he said.

When Sergei decided to perform one final dance, the result, accompanied by Hozier’s song Take Me To Church and shot by US photographer David LaChapelle, had more than 18 million views on YouTube.

But Sergei decided that he could not turn his back on his first love.

“I had to get very clear and I had nine hours to think,” he said. “Something told me, you’re leaving something behind that you have to complete.”

Sergei, who has also enjoyed a foray into the movie world with credits in Red Sparrow with Jennifer Lawrence and Kenneth Branagh’s Murder On The Orient Express, will also be performing at Sadler’s Wells Theatre.

“You’re not just a tool. You’re an artist who can create. That’s what it’s all about,” he said of his new dance project, collaborating with other artists.

Sergei said that he took drugs because he was “bored” but that he has “matured”.

He said of his “bad boy” label: “I did want to be a bad guy. I did want to destroy things. I never wanted to be good example. I still don’t want to be a good example. But I don’t like the name.”

:: Dancer will be released in cinemas on March 10, with the premiere and a live performance from Sergei taking place on March 2 at the London Palladium and broadcast into cinemas nationwide: www.dancermovie.co.uk; Project Polunin premieres in London at Sadler’s Wells from March 14 to 18: www.sadlerswells.com