BBC Strictly Come Dancing's opening night dances and music choices revealed
The first dances for Strictly Come Dancing's 2024 pairs have been unveiled, with fans eagerly anticipating the week one live show set to hit screens tonight (Saturday September 21). Making history, Comedian Chris McCausland, who is the programme's inaugural blind competitor, gears up to perform the Cha Cha to The Beatles' classic Twist And Shout with pro Dianne Buswell.
McCausland, 47, opened up about his initial reluctance to join the line-up of celebrities but admitted he was "very easily persuaded" in the end. Returning professional Amy Dowden will take to the dance floor with a Waltz to When I Need You by Leo Sayer alongside her celeb partner JB Gill.
Dowden, returning at age 34, courageously steps back into the limelight after battling breast cancer, which she discovered just a day before her honeymoon in May 2023. Her diagnosis meant she didn't compete with a celebrity in last year's series, reports the Mirror.
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She triumphantly announced in February that she'd be making a comeback on this year's show following a successful mastectomy and chemotherapy, which resulted in her having "no evidence of disease". In other news, actor Jamie Borthwick, fresh from his victory in the 2023 Christmas special, is set to Viennese Waltz to Beautiful Things by Benson Boone with his dancing partner Michelle Tsiakkas.
Meanwhile, ex-Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson is stepping up to the challenge, bringing an American Smooth routine to Fat Les's iconic football anthem Vindaloo, alongside Karen Hauer. Paul's song choice reportedly didn't sit well with the former sports star.
Insiders claimed that producers had to "re-record" his reaction due to his visible disappointment. An eyewitness shared with the Daily Mail: "You can't blame him for thinking he is being set up to be the joke act, but also the connotations of it [the song] are also not exactly positive either.
"It has been accused of being racist and the song that far-Right football hooligans sing." In other Strictly news, Gladiator Montell Douglas is set to Foxtrot to Dinah Washington's Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby alongside Johannes Radebe, while reality TV's Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal will tackle the Paso Doble to The Prodigy's Breathe.
Nick Knowles of DIY SOS fame will be jiving to We Built This City by Starship with Luba Mushtuk, having expressed that this year's Strictly might be his "last chance physically" to join the dance extravaganza.
This Morning's Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez are preparing a Cha Cha routine to Kylie Minogue's Love At First Sight, whereas Olympic hockey champion Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin will Foxtrot to The Supremes' Where Did Our Love Go.
Miranda's Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola are gearing up for a Quickstep to Dolly Parton's 9 To 5, and Shayne Ward, the ex-X Factor victor, along with Nancy Xu, will Samba to Stevie Wonder's Do I Do.
Love Island's Tasha Ghouri and her dancing partner Aljaz Skorjanec are set to perform the Cha Cha to Espresso by Sabrina Carpenter this weekend.
Veteran singer Toyah Wilcox, who has recently expressed her intent to "channel my inner Ann Widdecombe" during the milestone series, is preparing to deliver a Tango to Madonna's Ray Of Light with Neil Jones as her dance partner.
Gold medallist in the pool, Tom Dean is gearing up to present his Tango alongside Nadiya Bychkova to the tune of Golden by Harry Styles, while opera star Wynne Evans teams up with Katya Jones for a Samba performance to Tom Jones' Help Yourself.
The 22nd season of Strictly Come Dancing will light up screens on BBC One and iPlayer at 7pm on Saturday, September 21, wafting in amidst a tempest of controversy regarding allegations of contestant mistreatment on the programme.
Further scrutiny falls on the BBC following an investigation sparked by claims against Giovanni Pernice made by ex-contestant Amanda Abbington. The findings remain under wraps, with Pernice denying the accusations.
Adding to the drama, fellow professional dancer Graziano Di Prima has bid farewell to the show.