Strictly Come Dancing confirm pros who have survived brutal cast cull
Strictly Come Dancing bosses have revealed the professional dancers returning to the show for 2026.
Strictly Come Dancing bosses have confirmed which pros have survived the brutal cast cull.
Karen Hauer, 43, Nadiya Bychkova and Luba Mushtuk, both 36, Gorka Marquez, 35, and Michelle Tsiakkas, 30, were axed as part of a big shake-up of the BBC Latin and Ballroom dance competition for the 2026 series.
The pros who will be back on the dancefloor from September are Dianne Buswell, 37, Julian Caillon, 30, Amy Dowden, 35, Katya Jones, 36, and 44-year-old Neil Jones.
Nikita Kuzmin, 28, Jowita Przystal, 31, Johannes Radebe, 39, Aljaz Skorjanec, 36, and Alexis Warr, 25, also make a comeback.
Completing the returning pros line-up are Kai Widdrington, 30, Nancy Xu, 34, Carlos Gu, 33, Lauren Oakley, 35, and 33-year-old Vito Coppola.
It is understood that there will be new professional dancers joining the line-up, names of which will be confirmed closer to the launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2026.
No changes have been made to the judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, 61, Motsi Mabuse, 45, Anton Du Beke, 59, and Head Judge Shirley Ballas, 65, who will scrutinise and score the stars and their professional dance partners' performances each week.
Strictly Come Dancing will make its annual trip to the Blackpool Tower Ballroom towards the end of the series.
The themed Movies, Icons, Halloween, and Musicals weeks, plus the Instant Dance challenge, are back for 2026.
Replacements for Tess Daly, 57, and Claudia Winkleman, 54, who quit as co-hosts of Strictly Come Dancing in December at the end of the 2025 series, have not been confirmed yet.
Last month, The Sun newspaper reported that nine celebrities had been invited to audition for the prestigious presenting gig.
It was claimed that former BBC Radio 2 star Zoe Ball, 55, ex-Big Brother host Emma Willis, 50, and This Morning star Alison Hammond, 51, attended.
They are believed to have been joined by Celebrity Gogglebox alum Rylan Clark, 37, The One Show presenter Alex Jones, 49, and 65-year-old The Chase presenter Bradley Walsh.
As well as comedian Tom Allen, 42, RuPaul's Drag Race UK alum La Voix, 46, and 42-year-old The Apprentice: Unfinished Business host Angela Scanlon.
The publication also reported that Strictly Come Dancing's weekly companion show, It Takes Two, is reportedly being turned into a video version of a podcast.
It came a week after 42-year-old former Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Janette Manrara - who has fronted It Takes Two with singer Fleur East, 38, since 2023 - told BBC Breakfast that she "doesn’t know" her future on the programme.
The celebrities battling it out to lift the coveted Glitterball Trophy on Strictly Come Dancing will be announced in due course.
