It's felt like a long time coming but the countdown to Christmas will officially begin tonight with the return of the all-sparkling Strictly Come Dancing. And the brand new group of celebrities have officially undergone their glitzy and glam makeovers ahead of the 2022 series.
The hit BBC One show was set to return to screens last Saturday night (September 17). However, the BBC took the decision to postpone. The start of the new series of the dance contest was hanging in the balance following the Queen's death and with the launch planned just two days before Queen Elizabeth II's funeral, which took place on Monday.
This year's Strictly journey will instead begin tonight, Friday, September 23, at 7pm with the launch show, which was pre-recorded earlier this month, and will see the celebrities found out their professional partners for the first time.
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Then, the first live show will follow the following day, taking place on Saturday, September 24, at 6.45pm and will see the competition well and truly begin. They'll be hoping to impress Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, head judge Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke will once again take his place on the panel.
There will also be four new professional dancers joining the returning Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Cameron Lombard, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.
They will be introduced to viewers in a cinematic dance routine filmed alongside the returning Strictly cast. The routine will form part of the Strictly Come Dancing launch show. Meanwhile, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be back to host the show and keep the Strictly ship running as smoothly as possible on a Saturday night.
And this year, Strictly will mark the BBC’s centenary with a special themed week, alongside returning favourites such as Movie Week, Halloween Week and the much-loved Musicals Week. The show’s return to the prestigious Blackpool Tower Ballroom after a two-year break due to the pandemic will be a highlight.
The 15 celebrities on the line-up were officially announced in full last month and include presenter Helen Skelton, singer Matt Goss and former Coronation Street stars Kym Marsh and Will Mellor.
BBC Radio 2's Richie Anderson, Loose Women star Kaye Adams, Comedian Jayde Adams, Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds, and Kiss radio host Tyler West are also lined-up to take part. Meanwhile, actress and comedian Ellie Taylor, actress and former Britian's Got Talent child star Molly Rainford, ex-footballing legend Tony Adams MBE, Hits Radio host and singer Fleur East, wildlife cameraman Hamza Yassin, and EastEnders acto James Bye complete the line-up.
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