Strictly 2024’s latest celebrity rumour will anger many viewers

Actor’s appearance would rub purists up the wrong way

Strictly Come Dancing has reportedly signed up anEastEnders star whose inclusion would undoubtedly annoy many fans of the show.

The BBC competition, which has recently found itself in hot water due to alleged complaints against professional dancer Giovanni Pernice, is set to return in September for its 22nd series. Its rumoured contestants include a CBeebies presenter and a renowned daytime TV star.

With less than two months to go until the show comes back, producers are hard at work trying to sign up the stars who will be competing to take home the Glitterball trophy, following in the footsteps of Ellie Leach, Hamza Yassin and Rose Ayling-Ellis.

The latest rumoured contestant, though, might frustrate purists who believe that the celebrities who participate in the series should have no prior dancing experience. According to The Sun, Jamie Borthwick, who plays Jay in EastEnders, will appear on the new series.

However, his involvement would come less than a year after the actor won the dancing show’s Christmas special alongside Nancy Xu in December 2023.

The couple performed the Quickstep and achieved the maximum 40 points from the judges.

A source told The Sun: “Although an EastEnders actor is on Strictly every year, this is the first time a performer on the festive special has gone directly into the competition. Producers and viewers were blown away by Jamie’s dancing.

“It’s not clear yet whether he will take a break from the soap or if he’ll juggle dance rehearsals with doing scenes for the soap.”

A BBC spokesman previously told The Independent: “We don’t comment on speculation.”

Jamie Borthwick won the ‘Strictly’ Christmas special in 2023 (BBC)

Borthwick has appeared on the BBC soap since 2006, when he was 14. Last year, the actor revealed he was asked to be on Strictly in 2018, but said “it didn’t work out”.

The actor’s appearance on Strictly would follow Coronation Street star Leach’s victory, as well as the appearance of his EastEnders co-star Bobby Brazier, who finished behind Leach in second place.

Earlier this week, it was revealed that professional dancer Aljaž Škorjanec will return to the series two years after quitting. His return will coincide with the show’s 20th anniversary, with Škorjanec stating: “This year is such a special one for this legendary show, I can’t wait to be a part of it and make my return to the dancefloor.

“I had an absolute ball during my nine year stint on Strictly, during my time away I became a parent, which has been an exciting challenge in itself and now I’m ready to experience the Strictly magic again.”