The glitter is back. Strictly Come Dancing returned to BBC One on 19 September for its 24th series, and it’s the biggest shake-up in the show’s history. With the first elimination coming this weekend, here are five things to know.
1. There are three brand-new hosts
After Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman stepped down at the end of last year’s series, Emma Willis, comedian Josh Widdicombe and fan-favourite pro Johannes Radebe have taken over. It’s the first time the show has had three regular presenters, and it comes with a new logo too, the first change since 2010. The judging panel is unchanged: Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
2. Fifteen celebrities are taking to the floor
This year’s line-up mixes soap stars, sporting legends and reality favourites. Dani Dyer is back after an ankle injury forced her out of last year’s series before the first live show. The couples are:
- Bethany Antonia (House of the Dragon) and Nancy Xu
- Cach Mercer (Love Island winner) and Maddie Ingoldsby
- Chris Appleton (celebrity hairstylist) and Amy Dowden
- Dani Dyer (TV personality) and Nikita Kuzmin
- Delta Goodrem (singer and actress) and Kai Widdrington
- Graeme Hall (Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly) and Lauren Oakley
- Jaime Winstone (actress) and Carlos Gu
- John Nellis (social media star) and Katya Jones
- Lacey Turner (EastEnders) and Vito Coppola
- Lawrence Robb (Emmerdale) and Jowita Przystał
- Melanie Walters (Gavin & Stacey) and Aljaž Škorjanec
- Dame Sarah Storey (Paralympic champion) and Julian Caillon
- Shaun Wright-Phillips (former England footballer) and Alexis Warr
- Tabby Stoecker (Olympic skeleton racer) and Mark Karmalita
- Will Best (TV and radio presenter) and Dianne Buswell
3. The professional line-up has had a big refresh
Long-serving pros Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas have all left. In their place come five new faces: Aleksandra Isaeva, Maddie Ingoldsby, Mark Karmalita, Lethabo Monametsi and Cristian Priori. Maddie and Mark were paired with celebrities straight away in their very first series.
4. Week one had a surprise leader
Social media star John Nellis and Katya Jones topped the leaderboard with 31 points for their foxtrot, ahead of Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington’s samba on 29 and Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola’s cha-cha-cha on 27. At the other end, three couples tied on 15: Melanie & Aljaž, Sarah & Julian and Shaun & Alexis. Nobody went home in week one, so those scores carry into this weekend’s combined total, which decides the first dance-off.
5. There’s more Strictly to watch than ever
Ellie Taylor, a contestant from 2022, is the new host of weekday spin-off It Takes Two. There’s also a brand-new companion show, Strictly: Lights Up, hosted by Abi Clarke and Tyler West, which lands on BBC iPlayer after every Sunday results show. And in the dance-off, the deciding vote now rotates between the judges each week rather than always falling to Shirley.
How to watch
Strictly Come Dancing is on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Saturday nights, with the results show on Sunday. Week two airs on Saturday 3 October, with the first elimination on Sunday 4 October. The final is scheduled for Saturday 19 December.