Strictly Come Dancing 2024: List of celebrity contestants and their professional dancers

Strictly Come Dancing 2024: List of celebrity contestants and their professional dancers

We have waltzed back into the ballroom for a Strictly spectacular new series. With each celebrity paired with a professional dancer, Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is now underway.On Saturday, the reality competition series made a comeback to television screens and the celebrity participants were informed of the professional dancers they would be paired with.

The series will now be a fixture on Saturday nights on BBC One up until Christmas with Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman set to host once more.

Meet your Strictly Come Dancing couples below.

Montell & Johannes

 (BBC / PA)
(BBC / PA)

Montell Douglas is dancing with Johannes Radebe.

Douglas is a multi-talented athlete who has represented Team GB in sprinting and as an Olympic bobsledder. In the 4x100-metre relay in 2010, Douglas took home the Commonwealth Gold medal. She also held the record for the quickest 100-metre sprint for women in Britain. Douglas made sporting history as the first female athlete from the UK to compete in both the summer and winter Olympics when she joined the bobsledding team in Beijing.

In 2023, Douglas joined the BBC One series Gladiators.

While professional dancer Radebe joined Strictly in 2018. Previously, he was on Strictly spin-off Dancing with the Stars South Africa, where he made the final twice.

Punam & Gorka

 (BBC / PA)
(BBC / PA)

Dr Punam Krishan has been partnered with Gorka Márquez.

Dr Krishan is a BBC Radio Scotland and BBC Morning Live resident GP. In addition to being a licensed NHS physician, Dr Krishan writes children's books and has more projects in the works. She also frequently appears on TV, radio, and in national newspapers as a broadcaster covering health-related issues.

Márquez, 34, is a Spanish dancer who is on his seventh year on Strictly Come Dancing. He finished second with both Alexandra Burke in 2017 and Helen Skelton in 2022.

Sam & Nikita

 (Clint Hughes / PA)
(Clint Hughes / PA)

Sam Quek is with Nikita Kuzmin.

Quek is a former hockey player for England and Team GB, a gold medallist in the Olympics and in Europe, and a presenter on television and radio.Quek received 125 caps for the women's hockey teams of England and Great Britain on the international scene. She also won an Olympic gold medal in Rio in 2016. Quek received an MBE in 2017 for her contributions to hockey.She was a team captain on A Question of Sport and has presented BBC Morning Live. Quek is also a presenter for several sports, such as American football, cricket, rugby, and football. She often appears on shows on all of the BBC's radio stations, and co-anchored the breakfast show for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

Kuzmin, a 26-year-old Ukrainian dancer, joined Strictly in 2021.

Sarah & Vito

 (PA)
(PA)

Sarah Hadland is partnered with Strictly pro Vito Coppola.

Hadland has a long history in theatre, television, and film. Her most well-known roles are as Stevie in the Bafta-nominated sitcom Miranda, and as an original cast member of the multi-award-winning BBC series Horrible Histories. Because of her starring performance in the comedy series The Job Lot on ITV, Hadland received a nomination for an RTS Award for Best Comedy Performance. Hadland's significant stage credits include Noises Off on the West End. She has appeared in multiple films, including the James Bond epic Quantum of Solace.

In 2022, Coppola, 31, made his Strictly debut and advanced to the finals with Fleur East.

Tasha & Aljaž

 (Jordan Pettitt / PA)
(Jordan Pettitt / PA)

Tasha Ghouri is partnered with Aljaž Škorjanec.

Ghouri has a strong commitment to educating others about the deaf community.

Since her 2022 appearance on ITV’s Love Island, she has accumulated a social media following of almost 2.2 million people.

Ghouri has championed causes near and dear by working with MED-EL, the Department of Education, and Downing Street. She has published a book, Hits Different, and also hosts a podcast called Superpowers with Tasha.

Dancer Škorjanec was absent from the show in 2023, claiming he took a break when his baby was born.

Toyah & Neil

 (BBC)
(BBC)

Toyah Willcox has been partnered with Neil Jones.

For more than 50 years, Willcox has been performing on stage and screen. She is an award-winning rock legend who appeared at this year's Glastonbury Festival alongside her husband, Robert Fripp. Her hit songs include It's A Mystery, I Want to Be Free, and Brave New World. Wilcox has released 13 top 40 singles, 25 albums, and two novels, and has appeared in more than 40 stage plays and 20 feature films. She has also presented several television shows.

Dancer Jones has been part of the Strictly family since 2016.

Chris & Dianne

 (BBC)
(BBC)

Chris McCausland is with Dianne Buswell.

Having appeared on major comedy programmes such as Have I Got News for You, Would I Lie to You?, QI, The Last Leg, and 8 out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, McCausland has been a comedian for more than 20 years. He has performed at and hosted Live at the Apollo; he hosted the show in 2021, and has also been on the Royal Variety Performance.He presently hosts the Chris McCausland Show, an ITV Saturday morning conversation show.

His partner, Australian dancer Buswell, came on board the show in 2018. The 35-year-old is dating Joe Sugg, with whom she advanced to the final that same year.

Jamie & Michelle

 (Ian West / PA)
(Ian West / PA)

Jamie Borthwick is with Michelle Tsiakkas.

Actor Borthwick became well-known for his role as Jay Brown/Mitchell in the BBC drama EastEnders, which he has been a part of since 2006.

He is currently among the actors on the show with the longest tenure, and won the 2008 British Soap Award for Best Dramatic Performance from a Young Actor.He also won the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special of 2023.

Meanwhile, his dance partner Tsiakkas joined Strictly in 2022.

JB & Amy

 (BBC / PA)
(BBC / PA)

JB Gill is with Amy Dowden.

Gill gained fame as a member of boyband JLS, who have sold more than 10 million records worldwide, with five number one hits. They have also won numerous awards. In addition to being an accomplished farmer, Gill served as the main host of the Bafta-nominated television shows Down On The Farm on CBeebies, and On The Farm on Channel 5, and has also appearanced on BBC programmes Countryfile and Springwatch. Gill hosts his own television programme, Cooking With The Gills, on Channel 5 and has been a member of the BBC Songs of Praise team since 2017.

In 2019, Dowden – who joined the series in 2017 – was a finalist in the seventeenth series alongside TV host Karim Zeroual.

Nick & Luba

 (BBC / PA)
(BBC / PA)

Nick Knowles has been partnered with Luba Mushtuk.

Knowles has served as the face of the BBC's Bafta-winning DIY SOS for the past 24 years. Most recently, he collaborated with Channel 5 on a number of travel-themed shows, such as Nick Knowles in South America, The Mighty Mississippi, and Into the Grand Canyon.Knowles has presented across a wide range of genres over the past 20 years, including news, factual, travel, and entertainment, making him one of the most recognisable television personalities in the UK.

His dance partner, Mushtuk, joined the series in 2018.

Paul & Karen

 (BBC / PA)
(BBC / PA)

Paul Merson is dancing with Karen Hauer.

At the age of 17, Merson made his debut with Arsenal, where he later won the PFA Young Player of the Year award. Merson spent more than 10 years as a player for the team, appearing in 424 games, scoring 99 goals, and taking home all domestic titles in addition to the European Cup Winners' Cup. He also made 21 appearances for England, scoring three goals. He later played for Portsmouth, Aston Villa, Middlesbrough, and Walsall, before taking over as player manager. In addition to writing multiple books that discuss his football career and personal life, Merson is currently a football pundit and commentator.

Merson is with safe hands as his dance partner, Hauer, is currently the longest serving professional dancer on the show, having joined in 2012.

Pete & Jowita

 (Ian West / PA)
(Ian West / PA)

Pete Wicks is with Jowita Przystał.

In 2015, Wicks made his television debut on the Bafta-winning ITV programme the Only Way is Essex. In addition, Wicks co-hosts the critically acclaimed podcast Staying Relevant, which has received more than five million downloads. He has also appeared on a number of awards shows.

Meanwhile, Przystał joined Strictly as a professional in 2021.

Shayne & Nancy

 (BBC)
(BBC)

Shayne Ward is dancing with Nancy Xu.

Ward is a vocalist and actor. Following his win on the X Factor's second series in 2005, his track That's My Goal reached the top of the UK charts.

Ward has also acted in several feature films and musicals, such as the West End production of Rock of Ages. He is currently the main character on Channel 5's crime thriller series The Good Ship Murder.

Professional dancer Xu joined the series in 2019.

Tom & Nadiya

 (Jonathan Brady/ PA)
(Jonathan Brady/ PA)

Tom Dean MBE is with Nadiya Bychkova.

He created history at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics by becoming the first British man to win a gold medal in the men's 200-metre freestyle swim.

He went on to win another gold medal in Tokyo and finished as Britain’s most decorated athlete, with seven medals at the following 2022 Commonwealth Games. Most recently, he won his third gold medal for Team GB in the 4 x 200m freestyle relay at the Olympic Games in Paris in 2024.

Dancer Bychkova joined the series in 2017.

Wynne & Katya

 (Tim Ireland / PA)
(Tim Ireland / PA)

Wynne Evans is partnered with Katya Jones.

Evans is a presenter, broadcaster, and opera singer, best known for the Go Compare ads.Over the course of his 25-year career, he has performed in more than 200 concerts at London’s Royal Albert Hall, had two number-one classical music CDs, and served as a principal at most of the world's major opera houses. Wynne used to host radio broadcasts on BBC Radio 3 and Classic FM, and he currently hosts a regular show on BBC Radio Wales.

His partner Jones, 35, has participated in eight editions of Strictly Come Dancing, during which she and Nicola Adams were the first same-sex competitors.