FOOTBALL pundit Lee Dixon swapped his football studio for Winchester High Street when helping his wife promote her new ballet.

His wife Yolande’s new work, Yorke Dance Project: TWENTY, will be at the Theatre Royal in February - and Lee is set to bring some of his ex-Arsenal teammates along.

Lee said: “I go to all of Yolande’s dances. My favourite has to be when I saw her at Winchester Cathedral back in 2016 - it was a fitting venue for something so spiritual.

“Saying that, there’s just something we really like about Winchester - I’m going to be bringing Ian Wright and David Seaman down to the show on February 12, so be aware, the city is going to be infiltrated with ex-Gooners!”

Lee added: “I like to get to as many of her rehearsals as I can, too. Seeing her train so intensely takes me back to my career. I guess I am kind of envious that I can’t do all that anymore, and even more so that I can’t do the splits!

“I’ll tell you what, though, more and more football teams are integrating dance into their training routines. Dance has all the qualities to make it an integral part of athletics.”

Yolande said: “We absolutely love it here. We come a couple of times a year, whether that’s when I’m touring or just for a nice day out.

“It’s great to be able to take a couple of hours out of rehearsals to come and talk to everyone and see the city. It shows that the ballet isn’t just something on a poster, but a work of art from actual people. I hope that the people we speak to come to the dance and enjoy it all the same.”

Tickets for the show can be purchased at the Winchester Theatre Royal website or via the box office on 01962 840440.

And Lee was confident Saints can climb out of relegation trouble in the Premier League.

He said: “Well, they got off to a slow start but Hasenhuttl is a good manager. The players seem to relate to him and have that different look in their eyes, as if they’re up for attacking games. They’re definitely pressing in games differently, but there’s a long way to go. I’m sure they’ll claw their way through, but it won’t be done without a struggle.”