Upcoming 'Bachelor' contestant Kayla Gray shades former cricketer Shane Warne, 'hoped' he wasn't the leading man

The new season of The Bachelor hasn't even aired yet, but the drama has already begun.

Upcoming contestant Kayla Gray is out to win the heart of former rugby union star, Nick Cummins aka 'The Honey Badger', in the new season, but it would've been a dealbreaker for her if another athlete took the reins.

"I was just praying it wasn't Shane Warne, to tell you the truth," the flight attendant said in an interview with Perth Now. "There were a few rumours going around."

Although the 25-year-old from Mount Gambier was relieved to hear that former Wallabies player Nick was this season's Bachelor and not the cricketer, she still had her reservations.

"He's tall and is sporty, which is good," Kayla said of her first impression of Nick, 30. "[But] I thought he was a bit of a bogan, but that's not a bad thing."

It sounds like this trait of Nick's could work in her favour, especially since she describes herself as a "brunette Sophie Monk."

Meanwhile, Kayla's fears over Shane becoming this year's Bachelor were unwarranted because he was never going to sign up for the dating show. In fact, last October Warnie even slammed New Idea for starting the rumours.

"Once AGAIN 'No Idea' has completely made up a story about me being the new bachelor!" the father-of-three tweeted at the time. "This is hurtful to me & my children as it's total lies."

The 48-year-old continued, "Ps I have not had one conversation with anyone about this. How can they continue to print lies about me, make up stories & get away with it?"