It’s almost time to dust off your dancing shoes and brush up on your cha-cha-chas because Strictly Come Dancing 2025 is around the corner.
The BBC has announced the starry line-up for the new series, with confirmed stars including a Gladiators athlete, an EastEnders star and a football legend.
The cast has already had a shake-up after Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn withdrew from the competition on 21 August due to medical issues, and was quickly replaced by Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope.
These stars are set to become household names over the coming months with their weekly routines performed, if they’re a hit with viewers, right up until Christmas. But what are they famous for and, more importantly, do they have previous dance experience?
Find everything you need to know about all of the contestants.
Lewis Cope
Emmerdale star Lewis Cope, best known for playing Nicky Milligan on the soap, stepped in on 21 August to replace Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn, who withdrew from the series due to medical issues.
Announcing his participation on BBC One’s The One Show, Cope said he was walking down Oxford Street on his way to meet a friend when he received a phone call from the programme’s producers.
Asked how it felt to be joining the series late, Cope said: “I think, if anything, it’s probably helped me because I haven’t really had time to think about it or anything so now the excitement has kind of just taken over.”
Cope added that he was looking to most impress judge Shirley Ballas out of the show’s panel.
Away from the Dales, Cope has had roles in TV shows including Vera, Miss Sidhu Investigates, and Hetty Feather. On stage, he played the lead in the Olivier-nominated show, Agatha Christie’s Witness for the Prosecution, toured the UK in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and made his stage debut in the West End’s Billy Elliot: The Musical, aged 11.
Karen Carney
Former England footballer Karen Carney OBE was the 14th person to be revealed. Carney, 38, is the lead female sports presenter for both men’s and women’s football acros TNT and ITV. She has played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and the Lionesses.
She is England’s third most-capped player of all time, with 144 caps. She has competed at four World Cups, four European Championships and the London Olympics before retiring in 2019.
“It really is a dream come true to be a part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing line up,” she said. “I’m such a huge fan of the show and I can’t believe I’m finally getting the chance to take part. I’m so excited to meet everyone and get dancing!”
Carney was awarded an MBE in 2017 and an OBE in 2024 for services to association football.
Ross King
The 63-year-old is known for presenting ITV breakfast programmes, including Good Morning Britain and Lorraine, as their Los Angeles correspondent.
King 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. He was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to broadcasting, the arts and charity.
On joining the popular dancing programme, he said: “From the bright lights of Hollywood to the glittering ballroom - it’s a dream come true to be part of such an iconic show.
“I can’t wait to learn from the best, meet my fellow contestants, and, most importantly… try not to step on too many toes! Let’s give this the best that I can! As my mum always said: “You’ll never know till you give it a go!”
Stefan Dennis
Neighbours Stefan Dennis, who played Paul Robinson on the Australian soap, will be competing for the Glitterball trophy. Dennis appeared in more than 6,000 epiosdes across 40 years, right up until the show’s cancellation earlier this year.
The end of Neighbours has freed Dennis up to appear on Strictly. “This is an opportunity for me to once again learn to step out of my comfort zone in the world of television,” the actor said. He added that he’s “looking forward to the sparkle and reaching for the sky”.
Vicky Pattinson
Vicky Pattinson, who shot to fame after appearing on Geordie Shore from 2011 to 2014, is adding strictly to her bursting list of TV competition credits, having won I’m a Celebrity in 2015 and appeared on Celebrity MasterChef and Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
Pattinson is also a TV presenter, having fronted shows on MTV and ITV. She hosted Channel 4 documentary Vicky Pattison: Alcohol, Dad and Me, which raised awareness of alcohol addiction, and has campaigned for women’s health and emotional wellbeing.
“I’m absolutely buzzing to be part of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing lineup – but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t terrified,” she said.
“I am not a natural dancer! However, it’s such an amazing opportunity for me to step out of my comfort zone and to challenge myself in a completely new way and I just really hope I don’t make too much of a fool of myself.”
Thomas Skinner
Former Apprentice star Thomas Skinner has been announced as the tenth contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2025. The businessman and social media star said he was “beyond excited” to be joining the BBC dancing show and added that he had “never danced in my life other than at weddings”.
Since The Apprentice, the 34-year-old has appeared on numerous TV shows, including Celebrity MasterChef, 8 Out of 10 Cats and The Wheel. He has also released the self help book Graft – How to Smash Life and presented the mental health podcast The Men’s Room.
The announcement comes after Skinner was invited to a barbecue hosted by US vice president JD Vance at the latter’s holiday home in the Cotswolds. The star described the meeting as a “once in a lifetime” event.
Ellie Goldstein
Ellie Goldstein made history in 2023 as 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. As well as modelling, Goldstein acts, having appeared in CBBC series Malory Towers.
Goldstein, who appeared on The Great Stand Up to Cancer Bake Off in April 2025, said she was “absolutely over the moon to be joining” Strictly as it’s “a show I’ve loved watching for so long”.
”The chance to now be part of it feels like a dream,” she said of her casting. “I know it’s going to be challenging, but I’m ready to do it with the glitter and glamour and make some magic on that dancefloor. Let the Strictly journey begin!”
Chris Robshaw
Former England rugby union player Chris Robshaw has said Strictly “is about as far out of my comfort zone as it gets”.
The sportsman, who earned 66 caps for England and captained the national team 43 times, said: “I’m hoping to take my dad dancing to a whole new level, and my mum can’t wait to drag me along to her Zumba class. Let’s see if a rugby sidestep works in the Cha Cha Cha.”
Robshaw joined his childhood club, Harlequins RFC, straight out of school – and was just 23 when he first became captain at 23 years old. He played 300 games at club level, and is the only player to win the Aviva Premiership Player of the Year Award twice.
La Voix
RuPaul’s Drag Race UK star La Voix was the seventh contestant to be announced for Strictly’s 2025 instalment.
La Voix was awarded runner-up on last year’s Drag Race and quickly became a fan favourite. She has also appeared on ITV's Queens For The Night, on Paramount’s Queen Of The Universe and wowed the judges as a semi-finalist on Britain's Got Talent.
On her live tour, La Voix Meets, she's interviewed legends such as Dawn French, Joanna Lumley, Su Pollard, and Vanessa Feltz, and performed for the Royal Family at their New Year's Eve ball.
On joining Strictly, La Voix said: “I've performed for royalty, RuPaul and Simon Cowell, but 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.”
“Strictly is a national institution and I can't wait to get started. All that's left to say is: good luck to my partner! Here's hoping they can help me go from La Voix into La Danse.”
La Voix 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.
George Clarke
George Clarke, a British YouTuber, podcaster and social media star, has said he’s prepared to “fall over a fair bit” as a contestant on Strictly.
Clarke, also known as George Clarkey to his millions of followers online, rose to prominence after sharing humorous skits and challenges on his TikTok account and YouTube channel. He also hosts a podcast, The Useless Hotline.
When his casting was announced on BBC Radio 1 on Tuesday (12 August), Clarke said: “I feel like a lot of people will be saying... ‘Who?’”
On joining the show, he said: "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.”
Balvinder Sopal
Balvinder Sopal has played Walford matriarch Suki Kaur Panesar (now Unwin) on EastEnders since 2019. She said of her casting on Strictly: “Working on EastEnders and being a part of Strictly Come Dancing is the stuff thatdreams are made of.”
As Suki, she 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).
Away from Albert Square, Sopal has also appeared in Call The Midwife, Doctors, and Waterloo Road.
Sopal said “being on Strictly is a dream that I held on to, with no proof that it would ever happen”, adding: “I’m far too excited to put into words how I feel but I’m incredibly excited at the prospect of dancing across the ballroom!”
The news was revealed from Albert Square on Tuesday 12 August on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, where Sopal revealed she has past dancing experience.
“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."
Dani Dyer
Dyer, the daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, shot to fame after winning Love Island in 2018.
She has since fronted documentaries such as Is This Anxiety?, teamed up with her father Danny for podcast Live and Let Dyers as well as the travelogue series Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy. She has also made guest appearances on Celebrity Gogglebox.
Dyer, who is married to West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen, is also a published author, having released her debut book, What Would Dani Do? ,in 2019.
On joining Strictly, Dyer said: “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.”
Appearing on The One Show on 11 August, Dyer admitted that she was most worried about “picking up the routines and performing on live telly”.
Alex Kingston
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.
Kingston gained international fame as 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, which she has played opposite three Doctors.
She has also appeared in TV shows Douglas Is Cancelled, Treason, Gilmore Girls: A Year in The Life, Boudica and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She has held numerous stage roles, as Lady Macbeth, Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and Prospero for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Tempest.
While appearing on The One Show for her Strictly announcement, Kingston admitted that she was “terrified”.
On whether she had any previous dance experience, Kingston said that her “hips don’t lie”.
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink
Dutch football legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who currently works as an assistant coach for the England football team alongside manager Gareth Southgate, said he signed up to Strictly for his daughters.
“I’m a father of only girls and Strictly is part of our home life. I’ve gotten into it, and I like the show, so let’s have a go,” he told The One Show.
Hasselbaink has played for clubs including Leeds United, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea, earning a reputation as a prolific goal scorer.
Since retiring, Hasselbaink has become a familiar face in football punditry in the UK, and has managed clubs including Burton Albion and Northampton Town.
Hasselbaink, 53, admitted the dancing competition will bring him “totally out of my comfort zone,” adding: “I have no idea what to expect, I have a little bit of rhythm.”
He added that appearing on Strictly would be more nerve-wracking than scoring goals in front of thousands each week, saying: “Playing football in front of 70,000 people is easy, but dancing in front of people and with a partner who knows it 100 times better than you, it’s crazy.”
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, known as Nitro to Gladiators fans, was the first star to be announced for the 2025 series. He said of the casting: “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”.
He has competed at two Olympic Games and is a three-time European champion and two-time Commonwealth champion. He also became the first athlete to win gold medals at both 100 and 200 metres at the World Youth Championships. He won the 2005 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year, aged 17.
He follows in the footsteps of his Gladiators co-star Montell Douglas, who appeared on last year’s 20th anniversary series of Strictly and was eliminated in week 10.
Kristian Nairn – withdrawn
Game of Thrones actor and DJ Kristian Nairn was forced to pull out of the competition early due to unexpected medical reasons.
Nairn, who played Hodor in the popular fantasy series based on the books by George R R Martin, said in a statement on 21 August: “With a heavy heart, I have to step back from this season of Strictly Come Dancing due to unexpected medical reasons.”
“I was truly looking forward to the journey, and I’m deeply sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to seeing me on the dance floor.”
Earlier in August, he was the final contestant to be announced for the 2025 series and said at the time he was ready to rise to the challenge, calling it a “surreal and wonderful opportunity”.
Strictly Come Dancing begins on BBC One from 20 September.
