‘Strictly Come Dancing’ champ Joe McFadden has revealed he’s unemployed but ”hopeful” about his future after lifting the glitterball trophy this weekend.

Joe beat Alexandra Burke, Debbie McGee and Gemma Arterton to be crowned this year’s ‘Strictly’ winner on Saturday night, in a showstopping finale that was watched by more than 13 million viewers.

But after 13 weeks of intensive training, Joe, who at 42 is the oldest ever ‘Strictly’ winner, is now looking for a job after his ‘Holby City’ character was killed off earlier this month.

Confirming he was now unemployed, he told the BBC: “I am. I’m very optimistic about the future, things are looking up.”

He added: “I’m feeling really good and looking forward to having a really good rest over Christmas.

“I’m going to lie in a dark room for about a week and sleep.”

The actor hinted that he would now like to swap the small screen for the stage, and put his dancing skills to good use in the West End.

“It would be lovely to put all the dancing into practice,” he said. “It would be a shame to let all of that go.”

Meanwhile, it’ been reported that Joe has pocketed £100,000 for his stint on the BBC dance show.

According to The Mirror, each celebrity who signs up for the talent show is given a standard £25,000.

If they manage to stay in the competition until the end of October, they then receive an extra £15,000, taking their total to £40,000.

Each star who then makes it through to the quarter finals get an extra £20,000 on top of that, with the eventual winner banking a fee of £100,000.