House of the Dragon’s Bethany Antonia is the ninth Strictly contestant

Chris Bennion Tue, July 28, 2026 at 11:21 AM UTC

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Bethany Antonia, best-known for playing Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon, is the ninth celebrity announced for the 2026 series - BBC

Slowly but surely, the celebrities are being announced for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing. In contrast to previous years, the big-name reveals will be taking place gradually across the summer – so we have a while to wait for the full list.

The 2026 series will be under serious scrutiny, not just due to the scandals that have hit the show in recent years, but because of a (mildly) controversial new hosting line-up. Everything you about the 24th series of Strictly Come Dancing is below.

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Which celebrities are on the show this year?

Who are the new hosts?

Who are the professional dancers?

When will Strictly start?

What else is new for this series?

Which celebrities are on the show this year?Bethany Antonia

Best-known, since 2022, for playing Lady Baela Targaryen in HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragon, Bethany Antonia is the ninth celebrity announced for the 2026 series. Appearing on screen since she was 14, her breakout role was in the 2020 teen thriller Get Even, and she’s also appeared in Nolly, Stath Lets Flats and Doctor Who.

Antonia says: “I can’t quite believe that I will be heading to the Strictly ballroom this September! I have grown up watching Strictly, and I am so excited to take the challenge on and (hopefully!) learn a new skill. See you on the dancefloor!”

Jamie Winstone

Jaime Winstone (daughter of Ray) is the latest addition to the line-up of celebrity contestants

Daughter of Ray Winstone, Jaime Winstone began acting in 2004, and has notched up several screen roles, including Made in Dagenham, Tomb Raider, Dead Set, Torville & Dean and Mad Dogs. She’s arguably best known for playing Barbara Windsor in the BBC biopic Babs, and for then portraying a younger version of Windsor’s iconic soap character Peggy Mitchell in an EastEnders flashback episode to celebrate the soap’s 40th.

“I am so excited to announce that I will be joining the Strictly Come Dancing cast this year,” says Winstone. “I am no stranger to a dance floor, but the ballroom is a whole new world for me. I love a challenge though, so can’t wait to enter my showgirl era and get super sparkly!! Let’s get physical – see you on the dance floor!”

Sarah Storey

Dame Sarah Storey is the latest contestant to be announced - BBC

With 19 gold medals, 48-year-old Sarah Storey is Great Britain’s most successful ever Paralympian. Born in Manchester without a functional left hand, at age 14 she began her career as a swimmer and took part in four Paralympic Games, winning 10 golds, before switching to cycling in 2008. She only retired this year, yet the training sessions will continue – but now they’ll be in a dance studio.

“Embarking on a new challenge so soon after stepping down as an athlete is hugely exciting,” said Storey. “I have always loved watching Strictly, and my daughter Louisa is a very talented dancer, so to be able to learn from the best and hopefully understand even more about her world is incredibly motivating! I can’t wait to get started!”

Will Best

Presenter Will Best is the latest celebrity to join the line-up - BBC

The 41-year-old is a TV presenter and co-helms the Hits Radio breakfast show. The son of politician and House of Lords crossbencher Richard Best, Will has hosted TV shows such as Dance Dance Dance, Love Shaft, Suck My Pop and, most recently, the revival of Big Brother alongside Strictly alumnus AJ Odudu. He also recently won Celebrity Mastermind with the specialist subject of Danny Dyer.

He said: “What an absolute dream. Albeit a pretty terrifying one. I have no idea if I can actually dance, but bring on the sequins, bring on the quicksteps, bring on the dance floor! I’m going to try to enjoy every minute of it.”

Cach Mercer

Love Island champion and social media start Cach Mercer is the latest celebrity to be announced - BBC

Since winning Love Island in 2025, Cach Mercer has amassed a TikTok audience of almost 50 million, following him for his posts on Afrobeat, hip-hop and street dance. Mercer also works as a model, a DJ and as an ambassador for a mental health charity.

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He said: “I have grown up watching the show with my family and am so excited to now be part of the cast. Dancing is a huge passion of mine and I can’t wait to learn Ballroom and do the Foxtrot for the first time!”

Chris Appleton

Celebrity hairstylist Chris Appleton - BBC

Hair stylist to the stars Chris Appleton has clients including Jennifer Lopez, Sofía Vergara, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry – and has amassed four million followers on Instagram alone. His career began in a hair salon in Leicester before he moved to London and landed his first big-name client, Rita Ora. Since then, his work has featured in magazines including Vogue, Vanity Fair and Harper’s Bazaar, and he has styled Kim Kardashian for seven consecutive Met Galas.

He said: “I may know my way around a salon floor, but the dance floor is a whole different story – and I can’t wait to get started.”

Delta Goodrem

Delta Goodrem is the latest celebrity to be announced - BBC

One of many Australian soap stars who’s also carved out a successful pop career, 41-year-old Delta Goodrem is best known to UK viewers as Nina Tucker in Neighbours and the voice behind 2000s hits such as Lost Without You and Born to Try. Down Under, she’s had nine number-one singles and has won 12 Aria Music Awards. She was also a coach on The Voice Australia for seven years and represented Australia in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fourth.

But can she dance the foxtrot? Goodrem says: “There is one stage I’ve never stepped on to and that is the ballroom floor! I’m absolutely thrilled to be joining Strictly and can’t wait to get started!”

Dani Dyer

After dropping out of last year’s competition due to injury, Dani Dyer is back in the line-up - BBC

No surprise at all to see “broadcaster and author” Dani Dyer (she was on Love Island in 2018) in this year’s line-up, as she was originally included in last year’s, before injury forced her out before the competition began. It remains to be seen if she will once again be paired with Nikita Kuzmin, who instead made the final with another Love Island escapee, Amber Davies, last year. If you’re not au fait with televised dating shows, Dyer is also the daughter of Danny Dyer and wife of West Ham United captain Jarrod Bowen. As befits the partner of a footballer, Dyer says she is “over the moon” to be back on the show. She’ll be a competitor: she has already won Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins this year.

Lacey Turner

EastEnders actress Lacey Turner was the first celebrity dancer to be announced for the 2026 competition - BBC Studios

The EastEnders actress was the first celebrity to be announced for the 2026 series. Turner moved into Albert Square in 2004 at the age of 16 as the gobby teenager Stacey Slater and left on Christmas Day 2010. A stab at non-EastEnders acting saw her star in, among other things, the BBC’s army drama Our Girl, before being lured back to E20 in 2014. Stacey departed once again last year. Turner has said she is “excited and terrified” to be on the show but that she thought it was “about time” she plucked up the courage to take part (which suggests multiple offers in previous years). Good news, Lacey – EastEnders actresses fare well, with three of them lifting the Glitterball Trophy previously.

Who are the new hosts?

The new hosts: stand-up comedian Josh Widdicombe TV host Emma Willis and Strictly professional Johannes Radebe - BBC/Ray Burmiston

The biggest change this year is in the presenting line-up, with Strictly stalwarts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman having left the show in 2025. They have been replaced, in a shock move, by three presenters: TV host Emma Willis, stand-up comedian Josh Widdicombe and Strictly professional Johannes Radebe. Their chemistry in screen tests was, we’re told, “off the charts”, but it remains to be seen how Strictly’s throuple actually works. Early rumours suggested Radebe would be a “roving reporter”, though the BBC has named him a “host”, the same as Willis and Widdicombe.

Who are the professional dancers?

As the BBC refreshes the series for 2026, there has been something of a cull of the pros. Gone are Karen Hauer (the show’s longest-serving female pro), Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Gorka Márquez and Michelle Tsiakkas (particularly cruel given that she only joined in 2022 and only ever had one celebrity partner – “My dream is shattered,” she has said).

This means the 15 remaining professionals are Dianne Buswell, Julian Caillon, Vito Coppola, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Lauren Oakley, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Aljaz Skorjanec, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu. They will be joined by five new pros: Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita.

When will Strictly start?

It has not yet been announced, but given that each of the previous 13 series (bar the 2020 Covid-hit year) has begun between September 21-27, we can hazard an educated guess at Saturday September 26.

What else is new for this series?

Aside from a slightly redesigned – and we’ll say it, not quite as good – logo for the show, we’re unaware of any other major changes – the judging panel, for instance, remains as Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood. However, there are changes afoot for sister show It Takes Two. Host Janette Manrara, a former Strictly pro, has announced she has left, and rumour has it that her fellow presenter, Fleur East, is also gone. As well as new presenters, the show’s format is rumoured to be changing. Alas, it is changing to a vodcast – a visual podcast. Well, more budget for sequins, I suppose.

A slightly redesigned - BBC Studios

The BBC has announced no new themed weeks yet, but has confirmed the return of movies, icons, Hallowe’en and musicals, as well as a return for the instant dance challenge, which debuted to a positive reaction last year. And, of course, there’s the annual trip to Blackpool

Original Article on Source

Source: “AOL Entertainment”