Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Cast: All 15 Couples and the Week 1 Leaderboard

• Strictly Come Dancing 2026 has 15 celebrity couples, including hairstylist Chris Appleton, Love Island winner Dani Dyer and singer Delta Goodrem.
• YouTuber John Nellis and Katya Jones topped the first live show on Saturday with 31 points for a foxtrot.
• Nobody left in week one. The first elimination comes in the results show on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Strictly Come Dancing, the BBC ballroom competition that Dancing with the Stars is based on, held its first live show of 2026 on Saturday (Sept. 26), with 15 celebrities and three new hosts.

Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and longtime Strictly pro Johannes Radebe replaced Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who announced their exit in October 2025. The judges are unchanged: Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke.

Who is in the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 cast?

The couples were matched in the pre-recorded launch show, and for the first time the pairings were revealed during a group dance rather than one by one. The full line-up, with each celebrity’s professional partner:

• Bethany Antonia (House of the Dragon) and Nancy Xu, the only same-sex couple this year
• Cach Mercer (Love Island winner) and Maddie Ingoldsby, 21, a first-year pro
• Chris Appleton (hairstylist to Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez) and Amy Dowden
• Dani Dyer (Love Island 2018 winner) and Nikita Kuzmin
• Delta Goodrem (Australian singer, The Voice Australia) and Kai Widdrington
• Graeme Hall (dog trainer, Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly) and Lauren Oakley
• Jaime Winstone (actress, Ray Winstone’s daughter) and Carlos Gu
• John Nellis (football YouTuber, 15 million subscribers) and Katya Jones
• Lacey Turner (Stacey Slater in EastEnders) and Vito Coppola
• Lawrence Robb (Emmerdale) and Jowita Przystał
• Melanie Walters (Gwen in Gavin & Stacey) and Aljaž Škorjanec
• Dame Sarah Storey (Paralympic cycling champion) and Julian Caillon
• Shaun Wright-Phillips (former England winger) and Alexis Warr
• Tabby Stoecker (Olympic skeleton gold medalist) and Mark Karmalita
• Will Best (TV presenter) and Dianne Buswell

Not every viewer was sold. Some called it the “worst line-up ever” on social media and said they had not heard of half the names; others pointed out that most casts are unknown to them in week one, too.

Why is Ian Wright trending with Strictly?

Shaun Wright-Phillips, 44, is the son of Arsenal and England striker Ian Wright, who adopted him as a child. Shaun went on to play for Manchester City, Chelsea and England, and on Saturday he danced a cha-cha with Alexis Warr.

Why is Dani Dyer back?

Dani Dyer, daughter of EastEnders actor Danny Dyer, was announced for the 2025 series but withdrew before it began, and Amber Davies took her place. The BBC brought her back this year, paired with Nikita Kuzmin, who reached the 2023 final.

Who topped the Strictly leaderboard in week one?

John Nellis and Katya Jones finished first with 31 out of 40 for a foxtrot to “Ordinary” by Alex Warren, the singer who presents at Sunday’s VMAs. At the bottom, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Melanie Walters and Dame Sarah Storey each scored 15.

Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington danced a samba that drew praise from the panel. Lacey Turner danced a cha-cha, Cach Mercer a quickstep and Lawrence Robb a paso doble.

No one was eliminated. Week two airs Saturday, Oct. 3, and the first results show, with the first couple sent home, follows on Sunday, Oct. 4.

Is Strictly Come Dancing the same as Dancing with the Stars?

It is the same format. The BBC launched Strictly in 2004 and licensed it to ABC, which premiered Dancing with the Stars the next year. Both pair celebrities with pros, have judges score each dance out of 10 and mix those scores with the public vote.

The difference is how a couple goes home. On Strictly, the combined ranking only picks the bottom two. Those couples dance again in a “dance-off,” and the judges vote on which one to save; if they split, head judge Shirley Ballas decides.

On Dancing with the Stars, the combined total of judges’ scores and votes usually decides on its own, as in this season’s eliminations. The American season is also shorter, and its prize is the Mirrorball Trophy rather than the Glitterball.

The Dancing with the Stars season 35 cast is back on Tuesday. Britain’s other autumn hit, The Great British Baking Show with Nigella Lawson, is on Netflix on Fridays; more competition shows are in TV & Reality.

— Bruno Monteiro

Sources: BBC (Strictly Come Dancing launch show, week one live show and official performance clips, Sept. 2026). Couples and fan reaction as compiled by the London Evening Standard (Holly Bishop); week one scores as reported by PA Media; results show schedule from the BBC One listings. Photos: BBC.