Harry Aikines-Aryeetey<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nDave Arch\u2019s band, ready! Contender, ready! First out of the sparkly starting blocks was Nitro from Gladiators, AKA former Olympic sprinter Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. His glorified audition was the Christmas special, when he threw Nancy Xu around like she was an Elf On A Shelf, pulled off some \u201cpec-ography\u201d and came a creditable second. His Spandex-clad colleague, Montell \u201cFire\u201d Douglas, reached the quarter-final last year and he could do likewise. Expect muscly stripping, pugil stick props and (hopefully) the running man on a travelator.<\/p>\n
9. La Voix<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>La Voix.<\/span> Photograph: PHOTOGRAPHER:\/BBC<\/p>\nVoil\u00e0, it\u2019s La Voix. Rattling the earrings of Middle England comes Strictly\u2019s first ever main series drag queen. The franchise tested the water in the Christmas special with Tayce, who duly won. La Voix, AKA Christopher Dennis from County Durham, was runner-up on last year\u2019s Drag Race UK and Britain\u2019s Got Talent semi-finalist. She\u2019s trained in musical theatre, will look fabulous and generally slay but will La Voix get La Votes?<\/p>\n
8. Kristian Nairn<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Kristian Nairn.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nHold the stage door, it\u2019s Hodor the hoofer. Casting the Game of Thrones cult hero is a curveball that even Bran Stark didn\u2019t see coming. Nairn admits: \u201cThis will be a huge challenge for me physically but I\u2019m ready to rise to it.\u201d The gentle giant has a thriving side hustle as a house DJ, so rhythm and musicality should be strengths. He\u2019s also a total dude with a winning sense of humour, so will win over Westeros novices. Expect a cockle-warming journey of weight loss, self-discovery and dragon-themed routines, while various GoT alumni cheer him on from the front row. Winter is coming to the ballroom. You know nothing, Tony Beak.<\/p>\n
7. Karen Carney<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Karen Carney.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nThis is the summer of the Lionesses and in the absence of a current player \u2013 Leah Williamson was a rumoured target \u2013 midfielder-turned-pundit Carney is the next best thing. Expect goodwill in abundance when the Brummie wing wizard laces up her ballroom boots. There\u2019s speculation that she\u2019ll form half of Strictly\u2019s first all-female partnership since 2022 (and only the third ever), which would be a welcome twist. A routine set to Sweet Caroline or Freed From Desire would blow the Elstree Studios roof off. Bring on the 4am karaoke sessions and victory parades.<\/p>\n
6. George Clarke<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>George Clarke.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nNot to be confused with the Channel 4 property presenter and treehouse-botherer, this one is a YouTuber also known as \u201cGeorge Clarkey\u201d. Honestly, I don\u2019t know how they dream up these crazy nicknames. His comedy skits and Useless Hotline Podcast have seen him amass millions of followers. He\u2019s played down his dance ability \u2013 saying he\u2019ll \u201cpotentially fall over a fair bit\u201d and \u201cI once ordered pasodoble at a Spanish restaurant\u201d \u2013 but the yoof vote could carry him to the final, \u00e0 la Joe Sugg in 2018. Don\u2019t forget to like and subscribe, guys. Guys?<\/p>\n
5. Vicky Pattison<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Vicky Pattison.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nShe\u2019s been crowned Queen Of The Jungle on I\u2019m a Celeb. Will she now be Queen Of The Jive? Canny lass Pattison found fame on Geordie Shore but has since carved out an impressive career as a documentary-maker, author, campaigner and presenter. Far brighter and funnier than reality stars are often given credit for, she could go even further than her mate Pete Wicks last year. It\u2019ll also be fun watching her pro partner being baffled by her Tyneside accent. \u201cWhat are these stottie cakes and broon ales?\u201d<\/p>\n
4. Stefan Dennis<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Stefan Dennis.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nStrewth, mate, it\u2019s Paul Robinson from Neighbours. The bad-boy businessman and Ramsay Street Lothario is basically Ian Beale without the blubbing. He\u2019s starred in West End musicals and had a pop career (who can forget his 1989 hit Don\u2019t It Make You Feel Good?), so can hoof a bit. Jason Donovan, who played his on-screen brother Scott, reached the final. Could Erinsborough\u2019s elder statesman find the perfect blend? He hails from Tawonga in Victoria, not far from judge Craig Revel Horwood\u2019s home town of Ballarat, so could call in local favours in return for free drinks at Lassiters.<\/p>\n
3. Alex Kingston<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Alex Kingston.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nWhile her fellow contestants supplied the usual platitudes about \u201ccomfort zones\u201d and \u201cbeing Strictly-fied\u201d, Kingston\u2019s quote on her official BBC announcement simply said: \u201cAaaaagghhh!!!!!!\u201d We like her already. The ER and Doctor Who star was inspired to sign up by her pal Sarah Hadland, a runner-up last year. At 62, she might be the field\u2019s oldest female but don\u2019t bet against her. Classy casting. In your face, Dancing On Ice.<\/p>\n
2. Dani Dyer<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Dani Dyer.<\/span> Photograph: BBC\/PA<\/p>\nOwn up, who else\u2019s heart skipped a beat when they heard this name? So close to Danny Dyer doing a samba and yet so far. Sadly, he once said: \u201cI get offered Strictly every year but I\u2019ve got no desire to be mincing around in sequins.\u201d Still, the daughter of the beloved cockney thesp is a decent signing in her own right. She\u2019s fresh from the first dance at her wedding to West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen and sweetly describes Strictly as \u201cthe second most amazing thing I\u2019ve done this year\u201d. As a Love Island winner, Dyer Jr has form for triumphing in reality contests. We predict a waltz to Hammers anthem I\u2019m Forever Blowing Bubbles, while her dad gets weepy in the front row.<\/p>\n
1. Ellie Goldstein<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/span>Ellie Goldstein.<\/span> Photograph: PR<\/p>\nShe was the first model with Down\u2019s syndrome to grace the cover of Vogue and partnered with Mattel to launch the first Barbie doll with Down\u2019s syndrome. Now trailblazer Ellie Goldstein notches up another milestone by becoming the first Strictly contestant with Down\u2019s syndrome. She\u2019s already requested Nikita Kuzmin as her pro partner because \u201che\u2019s hot and fit\u201d. Don\u2019t beat around the bush, Ellie, say what you mean. The irrepressible 23-year-old recently branched out into acting on CBBC\u2019s Malory Towers. The myth-busting Mencap ambassador has the charisma, confidence and talent to make her bookies\u2019 early favourite. It\u2019s another step forward for inclusivity and could be the feelgood story of the autumn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.theguardian.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s been another summer of Strictly scandals \u2013 from allegations of stars using cocaine to a video appearing of an ableist slur being used on set \u2013 but the BBC will be hoping to move past that. The Strictly class of 2025 has now been unveiled in full. As always, optimistically rumoured big names failed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2041111,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25173],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2041110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/From-Alex-Kingston-to-Paul-from-Neighbours-every-Strictly-Come.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2041110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2041110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2041111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2041110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2041110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2041110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}