Norton hits back at Wogan

Graham Norton has hit back at veteran DJ Terry Wogan for claiming his new show Strictly Dance Fever was "beating an idea to death".

Wogan has slammed BBC1's plans for the spin-off, saying: "Strictly Come Dancing is a big hit - great. So then we have Strictly Come Dancing the ice-skating version.

"Then you have Graham Norton doing one of them because they don't know what else to do with him."

Norton defended the show, which begins on Saturday, saying: "What Terry Wogan said would be totally valid if it was true or informed in any way... To me, Strictly Dance Fever feels different enough."

In a sideswipe at the radio legend, he added: "But bless him, he's a man, talking."

He denied the BBC struggled to find him a series after his move from Channel 4. "I had one meeting and they pitched the Strictly Dance Fever idea and I said yes," he said.

The first three weeks of the series covers open auditions as contestants are whittled down to 30 couples. After coaching, most are ejected on live TV by a mix of public and expert votes. There is a £50,000 prize for the two champions.