Strictly Come Dancing finalist Mark Wright says there will be no more baring his chest on the dancefloor – because he is worried it is a turn-off for the audience.

He says he plans to keep under wraps for the climax of the series after a previous flash almost led to his departure and he ended up in the dance off.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s final, for which he is one of four celebrities still left in the competition, he said taking off his shirt was a no-no.

“I’m not taking mine off ‘cos the last time I did it, when I undone the shirt, I was in the dance off – so no, no one likes it. I’ll be buttoned up to here,” said Mark, indicating his neck.

Mark, who came to public attention as a star of ITV2′s The Only Way Is Essex, said he is still coming to terms with the fact he is in the final as his inability to move was a standing joke among everyone that knew him prior to joining the line-up.

“I used to get told it was a known thing that I just cannot dance and people used to stare at me at a party and like ‘go on’ – and when I signed up my family and friends knew and they would say ‘Go on Mark, show us what you got’.

Mark Wright Karen Hauer
(BBC)

“I really tried with all my heart to make it look half-decent so they would believe in me and then, one, two, three, four … they were all laughing.”

The 27-year-old, who earned the nickhame “Marky No Moves”, said: “If anyone had sent the script for today of what’s going to happen, I would have just ignored the emails.

“I just wouldn’t have expected to be here. It really has been the journey of a lifetime. I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Mark Wright Karen Hauer
(BBC)

Dance partner Karen Hauer said he had even been making his own suggestions to slip in moves for the routines she has choreographed.

“From not being a performer at all, now literally he’s telling me ‘ooh can we put this move in?’ I always say ‘negative’. But I love the fact that he’s so enthusiastic about it and has really fallen in love with dancing,” she said.

The final of Strictly Come Dancing is screened tonight from 6.30pm on BBC1.