Louis Smith: 'I'm Stepping Back From Entertainment'

Strictly Come Dancing winnerLouis Smith has declared that he intends to step away from showbiz.

The gymnast, who won bronze in the men's team event and silver on the pommel horse at Olympics in London last year, was presented with an MBE by the Queen at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

And he told The Sun that he now wanted to concentrate on building a sporting legacy from the games rather than entertainment for a while.

"As athletes, we have a big responsibility to keep the legacy going," he said. "I'm starting to take a step back from the entertainment side and move into charity and school work.

"People might misconstrue that because we are doing a bit of entertainment that we're losing our way, but it's about boosting knowledge and so that we can promote other things that we're doing.

"I never thought, starting off in gymnastics, I would be in this position. It's quite amazing. It's been a tremendous year for me."

Louis beat Denise Van Outen and Kimberley Walsh to be crowned Strictly champ back in December.