Strictly Come Dancing has announced that RuPaul’s Drag Race star La Voix is joining the 2025 series.
La Voix, who was a runner-up on last year’s Drag Race UK, will be joined by Ellie Goldstein, who made history in 2023 as the first model with Down syndrome to appear on the cover of British Vogue, and former England rugby union player Chris Robshaw.
La Voix said that, despite “performing for royalty, RuPaul and Simon Cowell ... nothing fills me with more excitement (and quite a bit of terror) than the thought of dancing in front of millions on live Saturday night TV”.
Goldstein added that she was “absolutely over the moon to be joining” Strictly as it’s “a show I’ve loved watching for so long”.
Meanwhile, Robshaw, who earned 66 caps for England and captained the national team 43 times, said Strictly “is about as far out of my comfort zone as it gets”.
Other stars set to appear on this year’s series include Love Island winner Dani Dyer, ER actor Alex Kingston, football manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
They will appear alongside 25-year-old social media star George Clarke and EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal.
Sopal has played Walford matriarch Suki Kaur Panesar (now Unwin) on EastEnders since 2020. She said of the news: “Working on EastEnders and being a part of Strictly Come Dancing is the stuff that dreams are made of.”
The actor also revealed she has previous dance experience, saying: “I dabbled a little bit, I did ballroom and Latin as a hobby and really loved it. When you’ve got a passion for something, you’re more inclined to enjoy it.”
Clarke said he was preparing to “fall over a fair bit”, adding: “Never thought I’d say this… but I’m doing Strictly! Honestly, I’ve got no idea what I’m doing but I’m excited to get stuck in.”
Dyer, the daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, rose to fame after winning Love Island in 2018. She said of her appointment: “Getting the opportunity to be on Strictly is the second most amazing thing I’ve done this year.
“I feel very, very blessed and cannot wait to get my dancing shoes on,” the 29-year-old TV personality added.
Actor Kingston, known for playing Elizabeth Corday in US medical drama ER and River Song in sci-fi show Doctor Who, said she was inspired to join the show after seeing her friend, Miranda actor Sarah Hadland, finish as a runner-up on last year’s series.
Dutch former football star Hasselbaink said the dancing competition will bring him “totally out of my comfort zone”.
Meanwhile, 36-year-old Aikines-Aryeetey, known as Nitro to Gladiators fans, said: “I’m so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I’m ready to give it all I’ve got.”
The athlete, a former Team GB sprinter who joined Gladiators in 2023, took part in last year's Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special alongside professional dancer Nancy Xu.
Aikines-Aryeetey said the Christmas special “was so nice I just had to do it twice”.
The remaining contestants will be announced throughout August. The rumoured names include former GB athlete Mo Farah and Sort Your Life Out presenter Stacey Solomon.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One from September through to December.
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