Strictly Come Dancing star named his dog after me – It's a weird feeling

Former Premier League striker Charlie Austin has revealed comedian Seann Walsh named his dog after him - admitting he's always found that level of fandom a bit "weird".

Austin, 35, scored 34 goals in 111 Premier League appearances and made his top-flight debut for Queens Park Rangers after helping the club get promoted in 2014. It was then that diehard QPR fan Walsh fell in love with the player, who returned to Loftus Road for a second stint in 2020.

Fast forward to today, and former Burnley talisman Austin is plying his trade in England's seventh tier with Totton. While he may not be among the elite these days, Walsh - who competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2018 and left the show in Week 6 - showed his affection with a very peculiar tribute.

"It's such a weird feeling, when you hear someone say you're their favourite player of all-time," said Austin while speaking at the launch of Ladbrokes’ 'Gaffer of all Accas'. "I've known Seann [Walsh] since I played at QPR, and it's just such a strange feeling when you hear people say things like that."

Austin proved prolific during his first stint with QPR and scored 48 goals in 89 appearances for the club. Only three other players - Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Diego Costa - outscored his 18 goals during his debut top-flight season, leaving Walsh in no doubt who would get the honour of sharing a moniker with his mutt.

"I actually found out Seann ended up naming his dog after me! So, my wife was raising money for a little girl called Dottie, and she managed to get a load of people to record videos and encourage people to donate," added Austin. "Seann sent one in, and in his video, he's playfighting with his dog, pretending that she's trying to get in the video - and then all of a sudden I realise he's calling his dog Charlie. And so he tells my wife, 'I named the dog after your husband!'

"It's mad, really. He's a lovely bloke, though, Seann. I just think when it comes to that football club, when you look over the years at some of the unbelievable names who have worn the shirt, and the where the club was at, around the time, and where I was in my career, it was like it was just supposed to happen."

Austin is loving life since dropping down the divisions to join the Stags last year. Jimmy Ball's side are currently second in the Southern League Premier Division South and are on track to contend for automatic promotion to the National League.