Summary
- The 2026 season of Strictly Come Dancing has officially begun, introducing viewers to this year’s 15 celebrity contestants and their professional dance partners.
- The format gave the launch show a different feel, with the contestants joining the dance sequence before the identities of their professional partners were revealed.
- This year’s contestants include Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone, Bethany Antonia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Graeme Hall, Lawrence Robb, Tabby Stoecker, John Nellis and Melanie Walters.
AI Generated Summary
The 2026 season of Strictly Come Dancing has officially begun, introducing viewers to this year’s 15 celebrity contestants and their professional dance partners.
The new season opened with a pre-recorded launch show that featured a major change in the way the celebrity-professional pairings were revealed. Instead of meeting their professional partners individually, the celebrities discovered their matches as part of a group dance routine.
The format gave the launch show a different feel, with the contestants joining the dance sequence before the identities of their professional partners were revealed.
Strictly Come Dancing contestants
The 2026 line-up brings together celebrities from a range of backgrounds, including television, music, sport, fashion and entertainment.
This year’s contestants include Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone, Bethany Antonia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Graeme Hall, Lawrence Robb, Tabby Stoecker, John Nellis and Melanie Walters.
The diverse cast is set to compete throughout the series as they take on different dance styles and perform in front of the judges and viewers.
Among the contestants are established television personalities, professional figures and entertainers, with several of the celebrities taking on ballroom and Latin dancing for the first time.
Strictly Come Dancing couples
The launch show also confirmed the professional pairings for the 2026 competition.
Cach Mercer has been paired with Maddie Ingoldsby, while Bethany Antonia will dance with Nancy Xu. Chris Appleton has been partnered with Amy Dowden, and Dani Dyer will take to the dance floor alongside Nikita Kuzmin.
Australian singer Delta Goodrem has been paired with Kai Widdrington, while Graeme Hall will compete with Lauren Oakley.
Jaime Winstone has been partnered with Carlos Gu, while John Nellis will dance with Katya Jones. Lacey Turner will compete alongside Vito Coppola, and former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips has been paired with Alexis Warr.
The remaining couples include Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał, Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec, Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon, Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita, and Will Best and Dianne Buswell.
With the pairings now confirmed, attention will turn to the contestants’ first full performances and how quickly the celebrities can adapt to the demands of competitive ballroom and Latin dancing.
New launch format receives mixed response
The revamped launch episode quickly generated discussion among viewers, particularly on social media. Fans shared reactions to the new pairing format as well as the changes involving the show’s presenters.
The group dance reveal was one of the notable changes to the traditional launch format, giving viewers a different way to see the celebrities and professionals introduced as a complete cast.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, viewers posted their opinions about the opening episode, with reactions ranging from enthusiasm for the new format to discussion about the new hosting line-up.
One viewer praised the presenters, writing, “SO FAR THESE THREE ARE DOING A VERY SOLID JOB WITH HOSTING.”
As the 2026 competition gets underway, the newly formed couples will now begin their journey on the dance floor, with viewers waiting to see which partnerships develop the strongest chemistry and performances as the series progresses.
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