Strictly Come Dancing live: BBC confirms week one songs ahead of first live show
The pressure is on as celebrity contestants prepare to perform live
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Strictly Come Dancing has unveiled the lineup of songs for week one of the competition, ahead of Saturday night’s first live show of the series.
The show returned to screens last week with a dazzling pre-recorded show to mark the beginning of its 20th anniversary series after months of scandal surrounding the programme’s professional dancers.
However, the pressure will rise this week as the 15 celebrity contestants perform live for the first time before the voting – and first elimination of the series – happens next weekend.
This week’s routines include three cha chas, two foxtrots, two tangos, two sambas and a Viennese waltz.
Comedian Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell will perform a cha cha to “Twist and Shout”’ by The Beatles, with TV doctor Punam Krishnan and Gorka Márquez performing the same style to Kylie Minogue’s “Love at First Sight”.
Former Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec will also dance a cha cha to Sabrina Carpenter’s summer anthem, “Espresso”.
As announced last week, former Arsenal/England player Paul Merson will be paying homage to his sport by performing the intriguing combination of an American Smooth to the popular football chant song “Vindaloo” by Fat Les.
Gladiators star Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe will be foxtrotting to “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?” by Dinah Washington, while Olympic Hockey player Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin are also performing a foxtrot to The Supremes’ hit “Where Did Our Love Go”.
Tango-ing this week are Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova dancing to Harry Styles’s “Golden”, while Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones performing Madonna’s “Ray of Light”.
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In the samba corner are Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, dancing to Stevie Wonder’s “Do I Do”, and Wynne Evans and Katya Jones performing Tom Jones’s “Help Yourself”.
TOWIE’s Pete Wicks and his partner Jowita Przystał will be performing what will likely be a fiery paso doble to “Breathe” by The Prodigy.
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas will dance a Viennese Waltz to Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” and JLS’s JB Gill and Amy Dowden will perform a classic waltz to “When I Need You” by Leo Sayer.
Strictly’s first blind contestant Chris McCausland says he and pro partner are ‘winging it’
Chris McCausland has revealed how the BBC production team have been supporting him as the show’s first blind contestant.
Speaking to The Independent and other media ahead of the show’s launch, the comedian admitted that he and his dance partner are “winging it” since McCausland has never seen the show before, and his professional partner has never taught someone who is blind.
“We’re just gonna have to figure it out as we go along,” he said. “The production team are just being really flexible. My dance partner is figuring out how to teach me. And we are winging it. That’s the best way I think.”
Speaking about his rehearsal experience so far, McCausland explained that adapting to wearing new dancing shoes was the first hurdle.
“The part of the problem for me is wearing shoes that I’m not used to walking in,” he said. “I can’t feel the floor through the shoes properly.”
Read more below:
Strictly’s first blind star Chris McCausland says he and pro partner are ‘winging it’
Comedian, who lost his sight aged 22, said he is ‘figuring it out’ as he goes along
Need to revise who everyone is again? Meet the full lineup...
Tomorrow night will see the couples take to the floor one-by-one for the first time – on live TV.
But before, perhaps you need a reminder of who they all are, and whether they have any dancing background.
Find out below:
Meet all the contestants on Strictly Come Dancing 2024
A comedian, a JLS star and DIY SOS presenter are among those who have been announced
Recap: Everything that went down during the launch show
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Strictly Come Dancing week one. Things are about to get very interesting: the celebrities will be dancing live (!) for the first time, before voting begins next weekend.
If you missed what happened during the launch show, you can catch up below. Expect Craig Revel-Horwood’s beard reveal, Amy Dowden’s emotional return and Jamie Borthwick being the punchline of the weekend.
Read our recap here:
The biggest talking points from Strictly Come Dancing’s launch show
The BBC’s glittering diamond shook off months of scandal as it return to screens for its 20th anniversary
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