FORMER Labour bruiser Ed Balls is apparently terrified at being "well outside" his comfort zone as a star in BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, but the ex-shadow Chancellor's desire for the stage may well have started right here in Worcester.

Last year Ed visited Coombers in Warndon, and upon hearing 'I Should Be So Lucky' by Kylie Minogue playing out over an amplifier he delighted in trying to sing a few notes whilst shuffling awkwardly in an impromptu dance.

Furthermore The Source still has video proof of this moment - which may well go down in history as the time when Ed Balls really did start to lose his marbles.

But if he's still after a dance partner for Strictly, that image above may point him in the right direction!

* IT wasn't that long ago that UKIP's Bill Etheridge praised Adolf Hitler's skills of speech delivery - but he can also turn fire on the Germans when it suits.

The Worcestershire MEP plundered out a press release this week hammering Berlin's vice-chancellor over some remarks he made about Brexit, telling Sigmar Gabriel to "keep his nose out" of UK affairs.

The title for the press release, compiled by his insufferable parliamentary researcher, charmingly refers to the German as "Gobby Gabriel".

* WORCESTER MP Robin Walker enjoyed the August holiday season by sampling the delights of Slovakia, but just how much of a break from 'work mode' it actually was remains to be seen.

With delicious irony this little nation actually holds the current six-month rotating presidency of the European Union - exactly the kind of place a newly-appointed but weary Brexit minister needs to be as far away from as possible to forget about the blasted bloc.

Do they want a referendum too?

* TALKING about holidays Mid-Worcestershire's Nigel Huddleston appears to have outwitted the rest of the county's MPs in the 'ultra-cool trip' stakes by jetting to San Francisco, California - another "I'll be back" moment.

For those not in the know, before he entered the Commons Nigel actually helped Arnold Schwarzenegger become the state's governor by volunteering in his recall campaign.

* ONE man with a handsome wallet this month is Labour's Richard Udall, but he isn't too chuffed about it.

The Worcester Warriors fanatic invited the entire Tory leadership to take part in his touch rugby match at Sixways last week, saying for every cabinet member to attend he'd donate £10 to charity and £150 if the leader himself Simon Geraghty turned up - only to suffer a clean sweep of holiday season snubs.

It's just not cricket eh.