Sports pundit Shaun Wright-Phillips has said fellow former footballer and most recent Strictly Come Dancing winner Karen Carney offered him advice ahead of his debut on the ballroom floor.

The 44-year-old former footballer-turned broadcaster, who has 36 caps for England, was paired with professional Alexis Warr for the new series of the BBC dancing programme.

The pair performed for the first time together during the launch show on Saturday night.

Speaking to the Press Association, he said: “I didn’t play with Karen Carney, but she gave me some advice.

“Pretty much (the) same advice that was coming into to it in terms of hard work, enjoy it and in many ways respect your pro, which I would have just done from the get go.

“To have that mindset and like have fun, innit?

“We don’t know how long we’re gonna be here, so I’m gonna try and enjoy every last moment of it.”

Wright-Phillips is also the son of football legend, Ian Wright, who he predicted would get emotional and start crying watching him on the show.

He said: “He never watches a lot of stuff that I’ve done in my life live.

“Only a few times he’s been to games, and only a few times he’s watched it live.

“He’s too emotionally attached, so he’ll most probably like start crying, or if anybody says something, he’s gonna have to say something, so he must probably watch it on a replay, knowing him.”

Over the course of his professional football career, Wright-Phillips played for Manchester City, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers, and the USA’s New York Red Bulls and Phoenix Rising FC.

Now a football pundit and broadcaster, he has worked with the likes of the BBC, Sky Sports, ITV, and the Premier League.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to screens on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One.