Strictly 2025 line-up confirms sixth contestant is social media star followed by millions
Strictly season is officially here!
The first celebrities for the Strictly Come Dancing’s 2025 line-up have been confirmed.
The BBC reality competition series hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman is back for another year of jaw-dropping dance routines and emotional journeys for our cohort of famed contestants.
Strictly has had a difficult couple of years after pros Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima were removed from the show (and replaced) after behavioural accusations from former partners came out against them.
Earlier this month, the long-running series came under scrutiny once more with reports that two stars had used cocaine, and one veteran worker had been offered drugs at a party.
Meanwhile, beloved pro Gorka Marquez confirmed he would not be competing this year, much to everyone’s devastation, but would make a cameo in some of the group performances.
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Amid all changes, however, it remains one of BBC’s flagship shows with a fresh set of faces ready to take to the dance floor. So who is in the official 2025 line-up?
George Clarke The YouTuber is the latest celeb confirmed (Picture: BBC)The sixth and latest contestant twirling onto the ballroom will be George Clarke.
Clarke is known as George Clarkey online, where he is a YouTuber, podcaster and social media star known to millions for his comedy content. He also co-hosts The Useless Hotline Podcast.
On joining Strictly, he said: ‘Never thought I’d say this, but I’m doing Strictly! Honestly, I’ve got no idea what I’m doing but I’m excited to get stuck in and potentially fall over a fair bit.’
Balvinder Sopal Balvinder Sopal has joined Strictly (Picture: Piers Allardyce/Shutterstock)To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
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Previous Page Next PageBalvinder Sopal was confirmed as the latest celebrity to join Strictly Come Dancing on Tuesday morning during Good Morning Britain.
Richard Arnold was in Walford to confirm that an EastEnders legend was joining the ranks.
‘I can’t stop butterflies. Every time I think about it, they just go, so, yeah,’ the actress who plays Suki in the soap said.
‘I dabbled a little bit. I did ballroom and Latin as a kind of hobby, and I really love it. And I think when you’ve got a passion for something, you’re naturally kind of inclined to enjoy it. So I’ll definitely enjoy it.’
‘I don’t know if I’ll be any good!,’ she added, saying she loved the drama of Latin dancing.
Balvinder plays Suki Kaur Panesar in the London-based soap (Picture: BBC/Jack Barnes/Kieron McCarron)‘It is about telling the story with your feet, with your body, and not speaking. So, you know, won’t have to learn any lines, which would be great, but it’ll be like learning a new language, I think!’ she said.
She confirmed she’d still be appearing on EastEnders during her stint, and wasn’t sure how she’d hack it – but was excited to find out.
She added that she thought her mother would be proud of her: ‘This is her dream. Actually, I think she would have been extremely proud. So, yeah, hold mom’s legacy.’
Dani Dyer Dani Dyer will be twirling onto our screens very soon (Picture: BBC)
