Strictly Come Dancing full lineup 2024: Meet the celebrity contestants, from Tasha Ghouri to Chris McCausland
A ‘Love Island’ favourite, a comedian, and a JLS star are among those competing
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Your support makes all the difference.Strictly Come Dancing is back in full flow for the show’s 20th anniversary, after it faced a scandal regarding the conduct of some of the professional dancers.
The 22nd series continues as the programme faces scrutiny over the treatment of some of its celebrity participants. Two professional dancers, Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima, have now left the show following allegations made about their conduct during training.
Pernice has denied allegations of “threatening and abusive behaviour,” while Di Prima said in a statement he “deeply regrets” events that took place with his celebrity partner Zara McDermott during a rehearsal.
The series is once again be hosted by the glittering duo of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.
The eagle-eyed Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke and Motsi Mabuse have returned to the judges’ table.
As with previous seasons, Strictly’s celebrity contestants were announced in drip feed announcements by the BBC. The official list, including reality stars, singers, comedians and more, is below...
Sarah Hadland
Actor Sarah Hadland is best known for her role as Stevie in the BBC comedy Miranda, which she starred in alongside the show’s creator Miranda Hart. She is also one of the original cast members of the children’s series Horrible Histories and has appeared in numerous films, including the Bond epic Quantum of Solace.
Hadland has made headlines since appearing on the show for admitting she fancies her dance partner Vito Coppola and for becoming emotional when she dedicated a Foxtrot performance to her daughter.
Jamie Borthwick
Actor Jamie Borthwick is known for his long-term role in the BBC soap EastEnders, having starred as Jay Brown/Mitchell since 2006. He is now one of the longest-serving actors on the show. Borthwick previously appeared on the Strictly Christmas special in 2023, and took home the trophy for his slick moves and impressive stage presence.
Tasha Ghouri
Love Island contestant and model Tasha Ghouri appeared on the ITV reality show in 2022, becoming its first deaf contestant. She trained as a dancer at Creative Academy and has since competed at major dance events and performed in music videos. Ghouri also hosts the podcast Superpowers with Tasha and released the book Hits Different in June, about a girl who is an aspiring dancer and goes on tour with a global superstar.
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Since being on the series, she has drawn praise for receiving the first 10s of the season, and for opening up about the ableist abuse she has experienced since being in the public eye.
Pete Wicks
Only Way is Essex star Pete Wicks rose to fame on the Brentford-based reality show in 2015, with storylines revolving around his relationships with Megan McKenna and Chloe Sims. He has since appeared on shows including Celebrity MasterChef, Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, The Real Full Monty and Celebs Go Dating, and co-hosts the Staying Relevant podcast with his best friend and Made in Chelsea star Sam Thompson.
Wicks has been doing well on the show, with him and his partner Jowita Przystal earning praise at one point for their “smouldering” chemistry amid rumours of a budding romance.
Wynne Evans
Tenor Wynne Evans, who is widely known for featuring in the theatrical Go Compare adverts as an opera singer, has had two number one classical albums and has given more than 200 performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London. He also hosts a regular show on BBC Radio Wales and is filming a series with Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page about the Welsh coastline.
He has been a very popular contestant on the show, though he and his pro partner Katya Jones were forced to explain and apologise after a clip of Jones removing his wandering hand from her waist went viral for all the wrong reasons.
Chris McCausland
Comedian Chris McCausland is a regular face on flagship comedy shows like Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You?. He is also known for playing Rudi in the CBeebies show Me Too!
The 46-year-old is the first blind contestant to compete in the show. He lost his eyesight in his early twenties as a result of retinitis pigmentosa, a hereditary condition. The diagnosis resulted in him leaving his job in web development, before joining the entertainment industry and finding success.
The Liverpudlian star has been hugely successful on Strictly, performing an emotional Waltz to Liverpool football anthem “You’ll Never Walk Alone” and cracking up fans of the show (and host Claudia Winkleman) with his great gags.
JB Gill
Singer JB Gill shot to fame in the X-Factor-founded band JLS alongside Marvin Humes, Aston Merrygold and Ortise Williams, who are known for their hits “Everybody in Love”, “She Makes Me Wanna” and “One Shot”. The pop group released four albums before splitting in 2013.
For the first few weeks, Gill danced with Amy Dowden, the pro dancer who returned to the show this year after treatment for breast cancer. But due to a foot injury, she has had to pull out of the rest of the series, with fellow pro Lauren Oakley stepping into her shoes.
Montell Douglas (AKA Fire from Gladiators)
Douglas, who won over audiences when she competed as Fire on the rebooted series of Gladiators, will be bringing her sporty background to the dancefloor.
She previously competed as an Olympic Bobsledder and Team GB Sprinter, becoming the first female UK athlete to compete at both the Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
The athlete previously held a British woman’s record for fastest 100m sprint and won a Commonwealth Gold in the 4x100m relay race in 2010.
A highlight of her time on Strictly so far has been her Carnival-inspired Couple’s Choice. The routine celebrated both Douglas’s Caribbean roots and her partner Johannes Radebes’ upbringing in South Africa.
In their VT, Douglas explained the dance was also a homage to her late grandmother, who gave her “the spirit of dance, love and movement”.
“All I can say is Nana is looking down on you and she has sprinkled her magic dust on you because you were exceptional,” Shirley Ballas told the Gladiators star.
Dr Punam Krishan - ELIMINATED
Dr Punam Krishan is a resident GP on BBC Morning Live and BBC Radio Scotland. She regularly covers health topics for newspapers and TV shows and has also written the children’s book How to Be a Doctor and Other Live-Saving Jobs.
On Halloween week, she became the fifth contestant of the series to be eliminated. She said: “I am really proud of myself. You know I’ve taken on something that’s so out of my comfort zone. The one thing that I’ve very much learnt is to say yes more, and that there is no point in your life when you can stop learning new skills.
“I’ve learnt more than dancing, I’ve learnt so much from Gorka [Marquez]. Everyone’s been so incredible and it’s just memories that I’ll take home forever and I am very proud. I’ve made my family very proud, I’m just really grateful.”
Paul Merson - ELIMINATED
Merson, who made his debut for Arsenal aged 17, played 424 times for the Gunners and scored 99 goals during his time on the team.
He was the fourth star eliminated from this season of Strictly, but he gifted us all with some pretty entertaining moments before he went, including his unhinged dance to the football anthem “Vindaloo”.
After his elimination, Merson joked he had actually “won” Strictly, saying: “Because I can dance, I couldn’t dance before and I can half dance now so it’s a bonus.”
Sam Quek - ELIMINATED
Former England and Team GB hockey player Sam Quek has won 125 international caps for the England and Great Britain women’s hockey teams, including a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Quek was the sixth celebrity eliminated, which left viewers heartbroken because she’d only recently really got into her stride with a fantastic performance in Halloween Week. After she was booted off, she said: “I’m gutted, I just want to say thank you. I’ve learned so much. Strictly has just brought that spring in my step back. It’s just been an absolute joy. Nikita [Kuzmin], you’ve been key in helping me find that inner Sam that was there, who went a little bit quiet for maybe one or two years and has just come back. I’m gutted because I do feel like I still have more to give.”
Nick Knowles - ELIMINATED
TV presenter Nick Knowles is best known for fronting BBC’s emotional building show DIY SOS, in which he helps transform the homes of families who are nominated by their community.
After a bumpy start on Strictly due to injuries, he ended up being the third contestant eliminated. He said: “I’ve really, really been surprised by how much I’ve loved doing it and by two things that happen. One is how much you care each week, and the other is how much you don’t want to let down your partner.”
Tom Dean - ELIMINATED
Althete Tom Dean, who is a three-time Olympic champion, was the first celebrity contestant to be eliminated from the 2024 series of Strictly.
Dean was partnered with Nadiya Bychkova on the competition, and in their two weeks performing together, they danced a Tango to “Golden” by Harry Styles and in their final week, a Cha Cha to “Boogie Wonderland” by Earth, Wind and Fire.
At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, he made history as the first British man to win a gold medal for the men’s 200m swim freestyle in over 100 years, going on to win a further gold medal in Tokyo and become England’s most decorated athlete at the subsequent 2022 Commonwealth Games, winning a total of seven medals.
At the Paris Olympic Games this year, Dean brought home his third gold medal for Team GB in the team 4 x 200m freestyle relay and spilled the news he was a Strictly contestant afterwards in a live interview.
Toyah Willcox - ELIMINATED
Punk-rock legend Toyah Willcox, best known for known for hits including “It’s a Mystery” and “Thunder in the Mountains”, was the second contestant to be eliminated from the 2024 series.
Willcox and her professional partner Neil Jones found themselves up against football star Paul Merson and Karen Hauer in the second dance-off of the series.
Following her elimination, when asked by host Tess Daly about her time on the show, Willcox called her time on the show “the best two months of my life”.
“It has been fantastic,” said the singer. “I have enjoyed every second. And you [Jones] have been phenomenal, thank you so much.”
Shayne Ward - ELIMINATED
Singer Shayne Ward was catapulted to fame when his debut single and album topped the UK charts. His song “That’s My Goal” made it to Christmas number one after he won the second series of The X Factor in 2005. Ward is also known as Aidan Connor in the ITV soap Coronation Street and has appeared in a number of musicals including the West End’s 1980s show Rock of Ages.
In the early weeks of the Strictly season, Ward used his VT to call out people who had criticised him, saying: “After the show on Saturday [of week one] I received some negative comments on social media saying I was over-confident. Some of them did get to me, when in truth I’m only human, I was scared, I was terrified. And I hid it behind as much smiling as possible.”
Ward was the seventh star to be eliminated from this year’s show, with fans complaining that the judges’ decision was “very unfair”.
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