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Jay McGuiness
Represented By
Ashley Vallance
Jay McGuiness is best known as a vocalist in the boy band The Wanted. Their debut single, “All Time Low,” hit the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart and the band went on to have a further 2 No. 1 singles and 5 Top 10 singles including the global hit ‘Glad You Came’. The Wanted toured the world notching up hit after hit appearing on the biggest TV shows and winning awards aplenty. In 2021, they reformed, releasing their greatest hits album, Most Wanted, and embarked on a 12 date UK arena tour in the spring of 2022.
Jay has a song and dance background, starting with dance classes in his early teens, Jay later attended The Midlands academy of Dance and Drama in Nottingham, close to his home town of Newark. After taking a break from The Wanted in 2013, Jay was confirmed as a celebrity contestant in Strictly Come Dancing 2015 and was partnered with professional dancer Aliona Vilani. The couple stole the public’s hearts with their graceful and energetic routines, becoming the runaway series winners and gaining the coveted Glitterball trophy. Their now infamous Jive to the music from Pulp Fiction has become the show’s most watched routine ever amassing over 8 million hits on You Tube. The routine was also voted Strictly’s BEST EVER dance by BBC Strictly viewers in December 2020
Jay McGuiness is best known as a vocalist in the boy band The Wanted. Their debut single, “All Time Low,” hit the No. 1 spot on the U.K. singles chart and the band went on to have a further 2 No. 1 singles and 5 Top 10 singles including the global hit ‘Glad You Came’. The Wanted toured the world notching up hit after hit appearing on the biggest TV shows and winning awards aplenty. In 2021, they reformed, releasing their greatest hits album, Most Wanted, and embarked on a 12 date UK arena tour in the spring of 2022.
Jay has a song and dance background, starting with dance classes in his early teens, Jay later attended The Midlands academy of Dance and Drama in Nottingham, close to his home town of Newark. After taking a break from The Wanted in 2013, Jay was confirmed as a celebrity contestant in Strictly Come Dancing 2015 and was partnered with professional dancer Aliona Vilani. The couple stole the public’s hearts with their graceful and energetic routines, becoming the runaway series winners and gaining the coveted Glitterball trophy. Their now infamous Jive to the music from Pulp Fiction has become the show’s most watched routine ever amassing over 8 million hits on You Tube. The routine was also voted Strictly’s BEST EVER dance by BBC Strictly viewers in December 2020
In 2016, Jay starred in the musical version of the Tom Hanks movie ‘Big! in Dublin playing the lead role of Josh Baskin. Jay reprised the role in 2019 in the West End at the Dominion Theatre to rave reviews. In 2020, Jay again took the lead role of Sam in the West End production of Sleepless, A Musical Romance at London’s Troubadour theatre based on the movie Sleepless in Seattle. Jay’s other theatre work includes starring in Rip It Up, a 60’s song and dance show at London’s Garrick Theatre and most recently taking the lead role of Bob Wallace in the touring production of Irving Berlin’s White Christmas in 2022.
In May 2023, Jay announced that he was now adding yet another string to his bow as a published author. His debut fantasy novel ‘Blood Flowers’, published worldwide by Scholastic, is slated for release in February 2024.
Jay has also done his fair share of TV work competing in (and winning) a celebrity version of the Channel 4 show, Hunted, raising money for Stand Up To Cancer alongside one of his former band mates. Earlier this year, Jay took part in Richard Osman’s House of Games where he again won the weekly battle to take the champion’s trophy. Jay has also presented regular features for BBC’s The One Show fronting films on topics as diverse as Music education in schools and Veganism.