Yahoo News What we know about Strictly's first Icons Week
A new theme week hits the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom this weekend.
Strictly Come Dancing might just have finished the ever-popular Halloween show, but themed episodes are back again this weekend with the first ever Icons Week.
The BBC One contest loves a special theme, with some favourites making it onto the show every year while others have fallen by the wayside after just one outing.
What will become of Icons Week and what does it involve? Here's all you need to know about what to expect from this Saturday's exciting live episode.
What is Icons Week?
Just as Strictly's wardrobe department were getting over the extravaganza of costumes and make-up that is Halloween Week, they're being plunged straight back into a themed show that will rely heavily on their transformations.
New for Strictly's 20th anniversary year is Icons Week, which will see the couples take inspiration from their musical icons.
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Expect memorable music, costumes, and of course, dance routines as the remaining celebrities and their dance partners pay tribute to some superstars.
The Sunday results show is also set to feature a pro dancer cast group number inspired by Beyonce, with fan favourite Johannes Radebe taking on the lead role.
Talking about Icons Week on The One Show, Craig Revel Horwood teased that the theme would extend to the judging panel too saying: "This is going to be great, because it can be anyone [from] Marilyn Monroe to George Michael, it could be Boy George, it could be anybody you want to be and I think that's great."
"It's going to be great fun, and it's the first time we've actually ever done this so I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to seeing who I'm gonna be as well.
What are the songs and dances for Icons Week?
The line-up of routines announced for the remaining 10 couples certainly looks iconic, giving the celebrities a chance to star as some instantly recognisable musicians.
Pete Wicks and his partner Jowita Przystal will dance a Salsa to Queen's Another One Bites the Dust, and Wicks told This Morning: "I've gone for the icon of icons, Freddie Mercury. I'm not overly keen on the Latin ones. My hips are uncontrollable. It's a struggle to get them in check...It's the toughest week for me so far. It's going to be wild."
Meanwhile, JB Gill gets a new partner this week in Lauren Oakley, who he'll be dancing his Couple's Choice with to a Bruno Mars medley while Amy Dowden recovers.
These are the Icons Week routines:
JB Gill and Lauren Oakley — Couples Choice to Bruno Mars Medley
Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe — Waltz to I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston
Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin — American Smooth to Love Story (Taylor’s Version) by Taylor Swift
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola — Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna
Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec — Couple’s Choice to What About Us by P!nk
Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell — Tango to Rock and Roll All Nite by KISS
Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas — Samba to Faith by George Michael
Pete Wicks and Jowita Pryzstal — Salsa to Another One Bites The Dust by Queen
Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu — Quickstep to Help! by The Beatles
Wynne Evans and Katya Jones — Rumba to This Is My Life by Shirley Bassey
Which other theme weeks feature on Strictly Come Dancing?
Strictly fans have enjoyed two theme weeks already this year, with perennial favourites Movie Week and Halloween Week having already aired.
The show also usually includes a Musicals Week, which we would expect to see take place closer to the finals, and also visits Blackpool's Tower Ballroom each year at the halfway point of the competition.
Whether or not Icons Week will make it onto the regular schedule remains to be seen, as a previous five theme weeks only aired as one-off specials. These included Best of British, Dance Through the Decades, Dance Fusion, Love Week and Around the World.
Will Amy Dowden be back in the ballroom?
Strictly fans have been concerned for pro dancer Amy Dowden this week as it was announced that an ambulance had been called for her after Saturday night's show, following viewers spotting JB Gill standing in the results show line-up alone.
It has now been confirmed that Dowden will not be on this weekend's show as she takes time off to recover, while Lauren Oakley steps in to partner Gill for the week.
A Strictly Come Dancing spokesperson said: "Amy Dowden MBE is doing much better and the Strictly family send her love and wish her well. She is delighted that fellow professional dancer, Lauren Oakley, is able to step in for rehearsals and to perform in Saturday’s show for JB Gill’s Couple’s Choice dance."
Fellow pro dancer Jowita Przystal told This Morning: "Unfortunately she won't perform this week with us. We're all gutted but her health is the most important thing and she's taken care of right now by the team. We're all sending all our love and hope she will just get better soon and she will come back to us."
Dowden has Crohn's disease and missed the 2023 series of the show because she had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May last year, but in February 2024 doctors found "no evidence" of the disease.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One at 6.30pm on Saturday.
