Wicked star Cynthia Erivo is to return to Strictly Come Dancing as the show’s first ever guest mentor.
The 38-year-old will appear during Movie Week on October 11, having previously appeared on the BBC dancing programme as a guest judge for two weeks in 2021, covering for Craig Revel Horwood and later Motsi Mabuse.
Movie Week will also see the series’ professional dancers perform a Wicked-themed dance to As Long As You’re Mine, which will be sung by Erivo’s character Elphaba opposite Jonathan Bailey’s Fiyero in the upcoming Wicked For Good sequel.
On her return to the show, Erivo will help the remaining 14 couples to dance like movie stars – coaching them in rehearsals and in the studio on the night, where she will sit with the judges.
During her previous two weeks on Strictly, Erivo was praised for giving her feedback to eventual champion, TV presenter Rose Ayling-Ellis, who is deaf, in British Sign Language (BSL).
It comes after the first live show of Strictly’s 2025 series saw former England Lionesses midfielder Karen Carney become the first footballer to top the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard for 18 years.
The show also saw former Olympian and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey moved to tears following his cha cha to Salt-N-Pepa’s Push It with professional partner Karen Hauer, which he said he had been dreaming of having suffered an injury last year.
Other contestants taking part in this year’s series include former Apprentice star Thomas Skinner, ex-Chelsea footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and former Love Island winner Amber Davies – who replaced fellow winner of the ITV reality series Dani Dyer-Bowen after she was injured in rehearsals.
Strictly will return at 6.20pm on BBC One on Saturday, where the judges’ scores from the first live show will roll over to this week, and the first elimination will take place.
