Strictly Come Dancing is officially back, which means we’re shimmying our way into 13 brilliant weeks of jazz hands, flamboyant costumes and electrifying routines.
The reality competition series returned to our screens on 20 September, where the celebrities were introduced to their professional dance partners for the first time – including the two new additions to the pro cast, American ballroom star Alexis Warr and Australian dancer Julian Caillon.
But who’s paired up this year? Meet your Strictly Come Dancing couples below…
Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe
Alex Kingston, known for her roles in the US medical drama ER and in sci-fi series Doctor Who, said she was inspired to join the show after seeing her friend, Miranda actor Sarah Hadland, finish as a runner-up on the 2024 series.
She’s paired with Johannes Radebe, who’s been with the programme since 2021. His previous dance partners have included chef John Waite, tennis player Annabel Croft and Gladiators star Montell Douglas, with whom he finished in sixth place in last year’s series.
Kingston gained international fame for playing Dr Elizabeth Corday in ER for eight years, and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role. She is known to millions of Doctor Who fans as River Song, aka The Doctor’s Wife, a role she has played opposite three Doctors.
Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon
Balvinder Sopal and her partner Julian Caillon are both Strictly newbies this year.
Sopal has played Walford matriarch Suki Kaur Panesar (now Unwin) on EastEnders since 2019. Caillon, a ballroom TV star from Australia, is a new recruit for the professional dancer cast, with 2025 marking his first year on the series.
Callion previously appeared as a professional dancer on three seasons of Australia’s Dancing with the Stars, has toured the world with the hit dance company Burn the Floor, and also competed on So You Think You Can Dance in Australia.
As Suki, Sopal has been at the heart of some of the soap’s most gripping storylines, from escaping her abusive husband Nish (Navin Chowdhry) to her on-off affair with Eve Unwin (Heather Peace).
Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova
Former England rugby union player Chris Robshaw is partnered with Strictly professional Nadiya Bychkova.
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Bychkova joined the show in 2017 and has been in a relationship with fellow professional and fan-favourite Kai Widdrington. She’s been partnered with Blue singer Lee Ryan, singer-songwriter Matthew Goss and Olympic gold medallist Tom Dean, who was eliminated in week one during the 2024 series.
Robshaw, who earned 66 caps for England and captained the national team 43 times, has said he is ready to take his dad dancing “to a whole new level”.
Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin
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Love Island star Dani Dyer, the daughter of EastEnders actor Danny, is partnered with Celebrity Big Brother finalist Nikita Kuzmin.
Dyer, who won the reality dating show in 2018, has gone on to present Is This Anxiety? and teamed up with her father on shows including Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy.
This will mark Kuzmin’s fourth year on Strictly, with his previous partners including Tilly Ramsay, Ellie Symonds and Sam Quek. In 2023, he partnered with actor and singer Layton Williams, and they reached the final before losing out to Coronation Street star Ellie Leach.
Ellie Goldstein and Vito Coppola
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Twenty-three-year-old model Ellie Goldstein is partnered with Strictly fan-favourite Vito Coppola.
In 2023, Goldstein became the first model with Down syndrome to appear on the cover of British Vogue – and has also appeared in a campaign for fashion brand Gucci. She has gone on to appear in the CBBC series Malory Towers and published two books about her life.
Coppola joined the show in 2022 and had a rapid rise to success, winning the competition the following year with his partner, Coronation Street star Ellie Leach. He was a runner-up on last year’s series alongside Miranda star Sarah Hadland.
George Clarke and Alexis Warr
George Clarke and his partner Alexis Warr are another all-new partnership, with 2025 marking Warr’s debut as a Strictly professional.
American dancer Warr is no stranger to dancing competitions – she has competed on the US version of Strictly, Dancing with the Stars, as well as performing on America’s Got Talent, World of Dance and several national tours of the US.
British YouTuber Clarke, also known as George Clarkey to his millions of followers, rose to prominence after sharing humorous skits and challenges online. He also hosts a podcast, The Useless Hotline.
Ahead of his debut, Clarke said he was prepared to “fall over a fair bit” on the show.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer
Former Team GB sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, known as Nitro to Gladiators fans, is partnered with Karen Hauer, the show’s longest-serving female professional. Hauer, who joined the series in 2012, lifted the glitterball trophy with Jamie Laing in 2020.
This isn’t Aikines-Aryeetey’s first time on the Strictly floor – he took part in last year’s Christmas Special alongside professional dancer Nancy Xu.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley
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Dutch football legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who currently works as an assistant coach for the England football team alongside manager Gareth Southgate, is partnered with pro Lauren Oakley.
In 2023, Oakley was paired with her first celebrity partner, broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy, and they made it to week eight of the competition. She replaced Amy Dowden on last year’s series following the dancer’s foot injury and made it to the semi-final with former JLS singer JB Gill.
Karen Carney and Carlos Gu
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Former England footballer Karen Carney OBE is partnered with Chinese National Champion Carlos Gu.
The sports presenter will be Gu’s third partner since he joined the series in 2022, previously dancing alongside CBBC star Molly Rainford in his debut year. He was paired with presenter Angela Scanlon in 2023 and narrowly missed out in the quarter finals.
Carney is England’s third most-capped player of all time, with 144 caps. She has played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and the Lionesses.
La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec
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RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix is dancing alongside long-time Strictly pro Aljaž Škorjanec, who’s served as a professional since 2013.
Škorjanec has made it to the final twice: in 2017 with Hollyoaks star Gemma Atkinson and last year with Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri.
La Voix was awarded runner-up on last year’s Drag Race and quickly became a fan favourite. She is the second drag performer to compete on Strictly, following in the footsteps of Tayce, also a former Drag Race contestant, who won last year’s Christmas Special.
Lewis Cope and Katya Jones
Emmerdale star Lewis Cope may have been a last-minute draft-in after Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn withdrew from the series due to medical issues, but he’s in good company with long-time pro Katya Jones.
Jones, who joined Strictly in 2016, won the show in 2017 alongside Scottish actor Joe McFadden. Last year, she was partnered with opera singer Wynne Evans and forced to speak out when a video of Jones removing Evans’s hand from her waist went viral.
Cope is best known for playing Nicky Milligan on the soap since 2022.
Ross King and Jowita Przystał
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Sixty-three-year-old Good Morning Britain presenter Ross King is partnered with Jowita Przystał, who competed in last year’s competition alongside The Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks.
King, best known for being the LA correspondent for ITV’s daytime shows, is a four-time News Emmy winner and has hosted over 30 TV series since he first debuted on radio broadcasts aged 15 and then on television at 17.
Przystal joined Strictly in 2021, rapidly making a name for herself by winning the glitterball trophy with her first celebrity dance partner, Hamza Yassin, in 2022.
Stefan Dennis and Dianne Buswell
Neighbours star Stefan Dennis, who played Paul Robinson on the Australian soap, is competing alongside last year’s winner Dianne Buswell.
The dancer, who lifted the glitterball trophy alongside Chris McCausland last year, reached the final in 2018 with her now-boyfriend Joe Sugg and then again in 2023 with Bobby Brazier.
Buswell announced on 15 September that she is expecting her first child with Sugg, confirming she will continue to dance in the series as planned.
Dennis, who played Paul Robinson on the Australian soap, appeared in more than 6,000 episodes across 40 years until the show’s cancellation earlier this year.
Thomas Skinner and Amy Dowden
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Controversial former Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner has been partnered with series fan-favourite Amy Dowden. Skinner’s casting has proved controversial among some Strictly fans, after he was seen socialising with US vice-president JD Vance at a barbecue during his visit to the Cotswolds this summer, during which time he was pictured wearing a Maga (Make American Great Again) cap. He defended attending the social event online, saying: “I am a normal bloke and it was an amazing opportunity.”
Skinner will be dancing with Dowden, who has returned to the series after missing out on both the 2024 and 2023 editions. In 2023, Dowden was absent from the series as she underwent treatment for stage three breast cancer. She returned in 2024 and was briefly partnered with JB Gill but was forced to drop out after a foot injury, with Oakley taking her place.
Dowden joined the show in 2017 and made it to the final in 2019 with partner Karim Zeroual. Her previous partners include JJ Chalmers, McFly star Tom Fletcher and James Bye.
Vicky Pattison and Kai Widdrington
Geordie Shore star and presenter Vicky Pattison is hoping to impress the judges alongside pro dancer Kai Widdrington, who went without a partner in last year’s series.
When Widdrington joined the series in 2021, he made it to the final alongside TV presenter AJ Odudu. He didn’t have the same luck in 2022, when he was eliminated in the first week with Kaye Adams. He had another successful year with Angela Rippon in 2023, making it to the prestigious Blackpool week.
Pattison shot to fame after appearing on Geordie Shore from 2011 to 2014, and went on to win I’m a Celebrity in 2015 and appeared on Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturdays, with a results show on Sundays, on BBC One.
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