The BBC has confirmed three more celebrities who will be taking part in the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing, following announcements by Alex Scott and Roman Kemp.
The BBC has unveiled three more celebrities who will be hitting the dance floor for the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing.
After months of speculation, the official line-up announcements have kicked off, with Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey being the first name revealed on Monday morning (Aug 11).
Next up, The One Show’s Alex Scott and Roman Kemp confirmed the latest batch of celebs set to strut their stuff on the Strictly stage.
First to be announced was Love Island champ Dani Dyer, who confessed it had been “so hard” keeping everything under wraps.
Speaking about her family’s reaction, including EastEnders icon Danny Dyer, Dani shared: “They’re so excited, it’s such a fun, magical show and to be asked to do it is such an honour,” reports Devon Live.
The mum-of-three, recently wed to footballer Jarrod Bowen, admitted she was “worried” about mastering the dance routines and is “petrified” of appearing on live television.
Doctor Who star Alex Kingston was next to be revealed as a Strictly contestant. She admitted she was “super excited” but now feels “terrified”.
The Grange Hill actress, speaking via a live video link from her holiday in Italy, remembered telling former Strictly finalist Sarah Hadland how “desperate” she was to join the show, to which Sarah responded that “it changed her life and she would do it again in a heartbeat”.
Lastly, footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was confirmed as the third celebrity to join the line-up.
The father of four daughters revealed that Strictly was part of his “home life” and he was prepared to “have a go”.
“I have a little bit of rhythm,” he teased, before joking that he is “competitive” and would need to do his utmost to avoid getting “some serious stick at home”.
“It’s totally out of my comfort zone,” he added.
Ahead of the official reveals, the clues of the stars taking part included a “newly wed swapping her first dance to cha-cha-cha,” a star who had “travelled through time and space,” and a “star player making a striking addiction” to the line-up.
They’ll be following the likes of Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Sarah Hadland and JB Gill, who all took part last year, while Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell lifted the glitterball trophy.
This comes after Olympian and Gladiators star Harry, also known as Nitro, shared his delight at joining Strictly as he made the announcement while taking part in a CBBC Newsround prank.
The Team GB sprinter took part in the Christmas special last year and was partnered with Nancy Xu.
He said: “After the Christmas Special, it was so nice I just had to do it twice! I’m so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I’m ready to give it all I’ve got. I’ll be bringing tons of energy to light up the dance floor. Let’s hope I’m as quick picking up the routines as I am on the track.”
Strictly’s return comes after the BBC was caught in scandals in recent years, which led to professional dancers Graziano Di Prima and Giovanni Pernice being axed from the line-up, while celebrity Wynne Evans was dropped from the live tour following “inappropriate” comments which he later apologised for.
Judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton du Beke and Shirley Ballas are all set to return for 2025 alongside hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, while the professional dancers have been sharing glimpses at training on social media.
Amy Dowden will be joining the line-up again, after having to pull out last year due to an injury following her cancer battle, while Gorka Marquez confirmed he will not have a celebrity partner.
Two new professional dancers, Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon, are also joining the series, with the BBC yet to announce which celebrities will be partnered with which pros.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer this September.
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