It does feel good having Strictly Come Dancing back on our screens, doesn’t it?
The hit BBC dance show made its long-awaited return on Saturday night for its annual pre-recorded launch, with the live shows set to begin next weekend.
As ever, the launch served as a taster for what we can expect in the coming weeks, and we also discovered which of this year’s professional dancers the 15 celebrity contestants have each been paired with.
Over the course of the show, we learned that reigning champion Oti Mabuse – who has won the past two years of Strictly – will be dancing with rugby player Ugo Monye this time around, while last year’s runners up Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez have been paired with Greg Wise and Katie McGlynn, respectively.
This year, Rose Ayling-Ellis is making history as the first deaf contestant to take part in Strictly, with the EastEnders star set to perform with Giovanni Pernice on the show.
Meanwhile, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe will form the first ever Strictly partnership made up of two men.
Here’s the full list of this year’s Strictly celebs and the professionals they’ve been coupled up with:
Kai Widdrington and Nikita Kuzmin are both new additions to the Strictly line-up in 2021, with long-serving dancers Anton Du Beke and Janette Manrara not competing this year, due to their new roles within the show.
Jowita Przystal and Cameron Lomard also joined the Strictly family in 2021, but neither of them has been assigned a celebrity partner.
This year marks the first time Nancy Xu – who joined Strictly in 2019 – has been partnered up with a celebrity on the main show.
Strictly’s first live show will air on Saturday 25 September on BBC One.
The hit BBC dance show made its long-awaited return on Saturday night for its annual pre-recorded launch, with the live shows set to begin next weekend.
As ever, the launch served as a taster for what we can expect in the coming weeks, and we also discovered which of this year’s professional dancers the 15 celebrity contestants have each been paired with.
Over the course of the show, we learned that reigning champion Oti Mabuse – who has won the past two years of Strictly – will be dancing with rugby player Ugo Monye this time around, while last year’s runners up Karen Hauer and Gorka Marquez have been paired with Greg Wise and Katie McGlynn, respectively.
This year, Rose Ayling-Ellis is making history as the first deaf contestant to take part in Strictly, with the EastEnders star set to perform with Giovanni Pernice on the show.
Meanwhile, John Whaite and Johannes Radebe will form the first ever Strictly partnership made up of two men.
Here’s the full list of this year’s Strictly celebs and the professionals they’ve been coupled up with:
- Adam Peaty and Katya Jones
- AJ Odudu and Kai Widdrington
- Dan Walker and Nadiya Bychkova
- Greg Wise and Karen Hauer
- John Whaite and Johannes Radebe
- Judi Love and Graziano Di Prima
- Katie McGlynn and Gorka Marquez
- Nina Wadia and Neil Jones
- Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu
- Robert Webb and Dianne Buswell
- Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice
- Sara Davies and Aljaž Škorjanec
- Tilly Ramsay and Nikita Kuzmin
- Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden
- Ugo Monye and Oti Mabuse
Kai Widdrington and Nikita Kuzmin are both new additions to the Strictly line-up in 2021, with long-serving dancers Anton Du Beke and Janette Manrara not competing this year, due to their new roles within the show.
Jowita Przystal and Cameron Lomard also joined the Strictly family in 2021, but neither of them has been assigned a celebrity partner.
This year marks the first time Nancy Xu – who joined Strictly in 2019 – has been partnered up with a celebrity on the main show.
Strictly’s first live show will air on Saturday 25 September on BBC One.
