Ex-Strictly pro Camilla Dallerup is in line to replace Darcey Bussell as bosses focus on finding another female judge.
The 45-year-old left in 2009 after winning with actor Tom Chambers.
And she was the first victim of the show’s curse, splitting from Brendan Cole.
Now wed to former Hollyoaks actor Kevin Sacre, she has been living in LA and is head judge on Dancing With the Stars US.
But sources say Camilla is still close to Craig Revel Horwood, who put her name forward.
A lesser-known name in the frame is Loraine Barry, 54, a world-champion dancer who is currently a judge on the Irish version of Strictly.
Another contender is former Strictly pro Erin Boag, 44, whose former dance partner, Strictly pro Anton Du Beke, 52, has also said he would “love to do it”.
A Strictly insider said: “Ideally, execs want a female judge. It will depend on the dynamics when they do screen tests.
"But the initial search will be for a female judge.”
Contestants being lined up for the next series include TV chef and I’m a Celebrity star Rosemary Shrager, 68, and Match of the Day pundit Danny Murphy, 42.
Darcey, 49, said she was leaving the BBC hit “to give more focus to other commitments in dance” – and is now in secret talks with Andrew Lloyd Webber for a return to the stage.
A source said: “Andrew and Darcey have been friends for years and he has been asking her to look at perhaps working with him. Darcey is over the moon.”
Meanwhile Katya Jones, 29, has got the “trust back” in her marriage to fellow Strictly pro Neil after her kiss with Seann Walsh.
She said: “I made a mistake but I don’t want it to jeopardise everything. And it hasn’t. We have our trust back.”
