Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC’s glitzy ballroom juggernaut, is gearing up for its 2025 season with a star-studded cast and a few headline-grabbing changes. As the curtain prepares to rise this autumn, anticipation is already building thanks to a series of high-profile contestant announcements, the arrival of new professional dancers, and the introduction of fresh welfare measures in response to recent controversies.
The excitement kicked off on August 11, 2025, when actress Alex Kingston was revealed as the third celebrity contestant live from Italy on The One Show. Kingston, 62, is no stranger to television audiences on both sides of the Atlantic. With memorable roles in the US medical drama ER (as Dr. Elizabeth Corday from 1997 to 2004), the 1996 ITV miniseries The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders—which earned her a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress—and a fan-favorite turn as River Song in Doctor Who (2008 to 2015), Kingston brings both star power and stage presence to the dance floor. In a statement that captured her enthusiasm, Kingston exclaimed, “Aaaaagghhh!!!!!!” (BBC News).
Not long before Kingston’s reveal, 2018 Love Island winner Dani Dyer was announced as the second celebrity set to don sequins this year. Dyer, 29, has made a name for herself not just through reality TV, but also through collaborations with her father, actor Danny Dyer, including podcasts and the travelogue series Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy. Fresh off her May wedding to West Ham striker Jarrod Bowen, Dani Dyer is ready for her next big adventure. “Getting the opportunity to be on Strictly is the second most amazing thing I've done this year!” she said. “I feel very very blessed and cannot wait to get my dancing shoes on” (BBC News).
The day’s announcements began with Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, the former Team GB sprinter and current Gladiators star known as Nitro. At 36, Aikines-Aryeetey boasts an impressive athletic résumé: he’s a two-time Commonwealth champion, three-time European champion, and the first athlete to win gold medals in both the 100m and 200m at the World Youth Championships. He was also named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2005. Having already experienced the Strictly stage during last year’s Christmas special (partnered with Nancy Xu), he’s eager for the full series. “I'm so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I'm ready to give it all I've got,” he told BBC News.
Adding to the lineup, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal was announced as a contestant on August 11 during a live segment from Albert Square on ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Sopal, 46, has portrayed Suki Panesar on EastEnders since 2019 and previously appeared in shows like Call The Midwife, Doctors, and Waterloo Road. She revealed she’s no stranger to the dance floor, having enjoyed ballroom and Latin dancing as a hobby. “I think when you've got a passion for something, you're naturally inclined to enjoy it,” she reflected. “I'll enjoy it but I don't know if I'll be any good. Dancing is about telling the story with your feet and your body as opposed to with words” (BBC News).
Rounding out the current list of announced celebrities is Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, the prolific Dutch striker who lit up the Premier League with Leeds United and Chelsea in the late 1990s and early 2000s. With 23 caps for the Netherlands and managerial stints at clubs like Queens Park Rangers and Burton Albion, Hasselbaink, 53, is swapping his football boots for ballroom shoes. “Swapping the pitch for the ballroom is certainly not something I've done before but I'm looking forward to tackling a fun challenge! Bring on a new type of footwork, with hopefully no own goals,” he quipped (BBC News).
Of course, no season of Strictly Come Dancing would be complete without its professional dancers. The 2025 roster features returning favorites such as Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas, and Vito Coppola. This year, two new professionals are joining the cast: Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon. Warr, an American, made history by winning the US dance series So You Think You Can Dance in 2022, becoming the show’s first female ballroom and Latin champion. Caillon, hailing from Australia, brings experience from three seasons as a professional on Australia’s Dancing With The Stars (BBC Press Office).
Last year’s Strictly series saw comedian Chris McCausland and partner Dianne Buswell make history as the show’s first blind winners, demonstrating the programme’s ongoing commitment to inclusivity. Yet, the show hasn’t been without its share of drama off the dance floor. Over the past year, Strictly has faced controversies involving allegations of drug use by unnamed stars and the departure of professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima following behavioral complaints. In response, the BBC introduced a suite of welfare measures in July 2024, including chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, two new welfare producers, and additional training for both professional dancers and production staff (BBC News).
As the line-up continues to take shape, more celebrity contestants are expected to be revealed in the coming days, keeping fans guessing and the rumor mill spinning. The new series is scheduled to air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from September through December, promising months of glitter, drama, and, of course, dazzling dance routines.
With a blend of seasoned actors, reality TV personalities, sporting legends, and world-class professionals—plus a renewed focus on contestant welfare—Strictly Come Dancing 2025 looks set to deliver its signature mix of heart, spectacle, and the occasional surprise. Whether you’re tuning in for the footwork or the fireworks, this year’s competition is shaping up to be a dance floor showdown you won’t want to miss.
