The new series of Strictly Come Dancing finally kicked off on Saturday night, with new hosts at the helm, a format shakeup and 15 nervous celebs.

Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe have taken over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who departed the BBC show at the end of the 2025 series. 

The new trio joined the dance floor for the first ever time as they welcomed back judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

Sharing his nerves, Josh said: ‘It’s a little bit overwhelming to be here but we are so excited…’

‘We cannot wait to spend the next 13 weeks with all of you’, Emma said.

Viewers at home hailed Emma ‘the goddess of British TV’ as she launched the series in a plunging glitzy dress.

While Emma went down a hit with fans, bemused fans asked ‘why do we need three hosts’ as they shared their verdict on social media.

Users wrote on X: ‘i love emma, jojo and josh but it feels so odd without tess and claude, this is gonna take some getting used to’,

‘I can’t understand why we need 3 presenters???’,

‘3 hosts are different but I love emma willis so happy she’s part of this’,

‘Emma and Johannes have got this but Josh just does not fit #Strictly’, ‘Why does it need 3 presenters? It just doesn’t work’, 

‘Is it way too early to say I’m not sold on these hosts and I want Tess and Claud back? #strictly’,

Emma marked her first ever Strictly show with an emotional post on Instagram, writing: ‘Week one… I guess it’s officially happening then. Dress on, game face ready and fully prepared for the glitter to take over… Strictly, let’s be having you✨’

The launch show episode, pre-recorded last week, saw the new crop of celebrities find out who they will be dancing with for, potentially, 13 weeks as they vie for the Glitterball trophy.

The trio have taken over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman , who departed the BBC show at the end of the 2025 series

As the hosts previously explained, the new presenting format is fluid with no ‘like for like’ replacements for Claudia and Tess.

Instead, seasoned TV presenter Emma, comedian Josh and Strictly pro dancer Johannes tried out different combinations during the launch episode.  

In another big change, the celeb contestants were split into groups of five to take part in three specially-choreographed dance routines to find out their partner. 

Earlier this week new host Josh admitted filming the launch show episode had left him feeling wiped out. 

The comic, 43, explained on the latest episode of his and Rob Beckett’s Parenting Hell podcast, that he was left drained after filming the show on September 9.

Josh admitted: “I’m not very well. I don’t want to go too graphic, but I’ve got stomach problems. I just keep nedding a p***, and I’m constipated, and I’ve got stomach pains.’

He added: “I’m not stressed, I’m tired.’

The launch also features  a sizzling number introducing five new dancers: Lethabo Monametsi, Mark Karmalita, Maddie Ingoldsby, Aleksandra Isaeva and Cristian Priori

‘Full disclosure, we’ve done the launch show of Strictly on Wednesday. It went well. The next day, I don’t think I’ve ever been so tired in my life, and I still don’t feel like I’ve fully recovered.’

‘Admittedly, I had a show in Dublin the next day, then I came back, and then I had a full-on weekend of parenting.’

Strictly continues with the first live show of Series 24 on Saturday, September 26. 

STRICTLY COME DANCING 2026: MEET THE CONTESTANTS

LACEY TURNER 

AGE: 38

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BEST KNOWN FOR?: Playing Stacey Slater on BBC’s EastEnders 

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I’m so excited and terrified at the same time but I’ve had so many friends do Strictly and I thought it was about time that I plunked up the courage and made my way onto that dance floor.’

DELTA GOODREM

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AGE: 41

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Played Nina Tucker in Neighbours and has released eight music albums

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I’ve been incredibly honoured to perform on many different stages throughout my career – from tv, theatre, film sets, to touring my own shows around the world, there is however one stage I’ve never stepped onto and that is the ballroom floor!’

CACH MERCER

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AGE: 25

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Won Love Island 2025 and is a TikTok influencer

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I have grown up watching the show with my family and am so excited to now be part of the cast. Dancing is a huge passion of mine and I can’t wait to learn Ballroom and do the Foxtrot for the first time!’

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DAME SARAH STOREY

AGE: 48

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Britain’s most successful Paralympian 

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WHY STRICTLY?: ‘Embarking on a new challenge so soon after stepping down as an athlete is hugely exciting.’

BETHANY ANTONIA 

AGE: 28

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BEST KNOWN FOR?: Plays Lady Baela Targaryen in House of the Dragon

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I have grown up watching Strictly, and I am so excited to take the challenge on and (hopefully!) learn a new skill.’

GRAEME ‘THE DOGFATHER’ HALL

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AGE: 59

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Hosts Channel 5 series Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I have watched the show for years, so to be a part of it feels like a very exciting challenge, albeit more than a bit nerve-wracking!’

TABBY STOECKER 

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AGE: 25

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Olympic champion skeleton racer

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I’ve had the wildest year of my life so far, so to be rounding it off with a childhood dream of dancing in the Strictly ballroom is surreal and I can’t wait to get stuck in!’

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MELANIE WALTERS 

AGE: 64

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Playing Gwen West in BBC sitcom Gavin & Stacey

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WHY STRICTLY?: ‘Performing in Pantomime for the last 15 years, my Strictly ‘fix’ has always been watching in a dressing room rather than my front room.’

DANI DYER

AGE: 30

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BEST KNOWN FOR?: Winning Love Island and being the daughter of actor Danny Dyer

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I am so excited to be back in the ballroom this September! I just cannot wait to get my dancing shoes back on and hopefully this time around I can actually make it to week one!’

CHRIS APPLETON

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AGE: 43

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Hairdresser to the stars – including Kim Kardashian and Jennifer Lopez

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I’m thrilled to be joining Strictly and coming home to the UK for this incredible experience. I’ve always believed that the best things happen when you take a chance and try something new.’

WILL BEST

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AGE: 41

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Hosts Big Brother and previously TV

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I’ve been lucky to do lots of live telly before, but absolutely nothing like this. And I cannot wait!’

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JAIME WINSTONE

AGE: 41

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Starring in films such as Kidulthood and Tomb Raider

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WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I am no stranger to a dance floor, but the ballroom is a whole new world for me.’

SHAUN WRIGHT-PHILLIPS 

AGE: 44

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BEST KNOWN FOR?: Footballer who played for the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘Strictly is definitely outside my comfort zone, but I’m super excited to get started and really looking forward to the challenge!’

LAWRENCE ROBB

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AGE: 34

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Plays Mackenzie Boyd on ITV’s Emmerdale

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I can’t quite believe that I am going to be getting my dancing shoes on this September on one of my favourite shows of all time!’

JOHN NELLIS 

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AGE: 33

BEST KNOWN FOR?: Face of a popular football-focused YouTube channel

WHY STRICTLY?: ‘I can’t wait to meet everyone, learn a new skill and, hopefully, be much better at family parties by the end of it!’

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But West Ham fought back after the break, earning a late share of the spoils thanks to quick-fire goals from Konstantinos Mavropanos and Mohamadou Kante, who was later sent off for a last-man foul on Kyrell Lisbie. Follow Millwall vs West Ham reaction live below, including analysis from Standard Sport’s Arthur Ferridge at The Den.

Marlon James’s 2026 novel, The Disappearers, has already been hailed as the novel of the century by The New York Times, and it is certainly magnificent and explosive in equal measure. Its success lies in the way its artistic execution dovetails with its highly charged subject matter.

The Disappearers pulls the reader into a seemingly knowable time and place – the Jamaica of 1988 to 2005. Yet what James seeks to make known and felt is not to be found in any record or archive. Focusing on the experiences of men who love, desire, and have sex with men in a virulently homophobic Jamaican society, this is a novel that explores a silenced history with astonishing depth and detail.

In my own work, I have published literary criticism that argues for the Caribbean as a constitutively queer, as well as a homophobic, space and I found The Disappearers to be a powerful literary reckoning with this hidden past. It strives to bear witness to the harm done to young and old men, with the damage inflicted on masculinity, with the volatile entanglements of vulnerability and exploitation, and with the ferocity and survival of queer intimacy. All of this in a city and a time where dancehall lyrics, Aids, and evangelical sermons created a crucible of loathing that legitimised violent denial.

The action, initially narrated through the diary entries of Eddy Porteous, begins as eight men gather to rehearse John Herbert’s provocative and unsettling 1967 US prison play Fortune and Men’s Eyes about homosexuality and sexual power play. As Havelock Titus, the director, declares: “The love that dares not speak its name, shouts all sorts o’ ways in prison. Even in a Jamaican prison.”

To perform homosexuality is undoubtedly an endeavour fraught with risk. However, the rehearsal room is a rare and briefly held space to live it and “to be part of something that tells Jamaica to go fuck herself”.

When a homophobic mob storms a rehearsal intent on killing those gathered there, the assault is narrated episodically in the voices of the perpetrators. The prose thrums with the righteous hatred and exhilaration of abhorrence that accompanies their acts of violence. By the end of the evening, one man is murdered, one blinded, and all carry injuries that can never be healed. Shortly afterwards, two of the men, Matt Chin and Orrin Turner, disappear.

The narrative resumes six years later, and the search for the disappeared follows multiple pathways through many eyes, as the novel makes it clear that gay men in Jamaica disappear way before anyone notices they’ve gone. The farce of queer denial is captured by one of the eight’s imagined intervention:

a Day Without the Gay, one morning where none of us show up for work … Can you imagine? Battyman and lesbian cleaning their house, cooking their food, teaching their kids, curing their sickness, and literally saving their lives every fucking day. You think they would see us then? … The only way for them to see us is for us to disappear.

But who wants to be seen when it means being outcast by family, vanished by closeted lovers and clients? And besides, survival often depends on invisibility and passing “given that a battyman has a sign on his back that says ‘Kill us any which way then move on’”.

This is not new territory for James. His eye for the snarled and performative character of Jamaican hypermasculinity and the co-existence of its homophobic and queer incarnations showed itself in his third novel A Brief History of Seven Killings. Here we see it through Weeper, the gang enforcer of West Kingston, who still writes letters to the man he loved in prison.

Yet what is a fleeting, if compelling, chronicle in Brief History becomes the substance of The Disappearers. This book unfolds the varied and intimate realities of gay men, their backstories, and afterlives. In their differences in class, ethnicity, social privilege, sexual preference, desire for attachment, emotional intelligence, eloquence, and identity constructions, the novel writes away the enforced flatness of slurs and stereotypes to humanise at scale. It is an everyday act of narrative restitution that has revolutionary significance given the continuing sexual politics of Jamaica.

Nevertheless, and equally significant, there is no comfortable place for the reader in this novel. It does not flinch in expressing the externally tormented, internally combusted lives of its protagonists. The restitution it offers is defiantly not the work of explanation or redemption. And it sets itself at maximum distance from the respectability prized by Jamaican middle-class heterosexuality — possibly epitomised by Jordan forcing his homophobic father, incapacitated by a stroke, to witness him having sex.

In terms of its aesthetics, James’s writerly watermarks are all on show. There are intensely held scenes, polyphony, intertextuality and a soundtrack – he is writing on the edge of extravaganza. But let’s be clear. This is not only a virtuoso literary performance – it is an enraged and personal act of restitution.

When Jordan Brown, a protagonist, praises the efforts of a journalist to record the brutal mob attack, he articulates the necessity of this novel – “Jamaica don’t get to beat us, kill us, then vanish us. And we don’t get to stop paying attention. This is important.” As James has been keen to acknowledge, this news story is one he could have featured in had he not fled to the church that closeted him, and then to the US, which gave him the distance from which to write with the excruciating proximity that defines his art here.

The Disappearers is a resolute, defiant and harrowing refusal to look away. It is more arrestingly a literary gesture of solidarity and kinship. In Jordan Brown’s words, “a touch that says ‘There you are, I know you, I see you.’” This is both an essential recognition and one that primes the imagination for justice and transformation to come.

This article features references to books that have been included for editorial reasons, and may contain links to bookshop.org. If you click on one of the links and go on to buy something, The Conversation UK may earn a commission.

The safety precautions were prompted by the discovery of what are believed to be old munitions in a garage in Holgate.

Police are ordering people out of their homes around Windmill Rise and they are warning they may have to close part of Acomb Road, which runs parallel to Windmill Rise.

Army experts have been called out to check the munitions.

A police spokesman said: “Your safety is our priority, so thank you for your support and understanding while we do this.

“Please avoid the area for the time being and speak to our officers at the scene if you have any concerns.”

We will keep you updated.

While you are not able to watch BBC channels or watch live TV on any streaming service, you can still keep up to date with lots of popular shows using streaming services like Netflix and Disney+.

If you do not own a TV or do not need a TV licence, there are steps you need to take to confirm this information.

You might still be visited by TV Licensing if you say you do not need a TV licence. (Image: Getty)

Do I need to declare I do not need a TV licence?

If you do not need a TV licence, you must declare this information.

There is a form on the TV Licensing website that you will need to fill out to officially declare you do not need a TV licence.

After filling out the form, you will be sent confirmation of your No Licence Needed declaration.

Sometimes TV Licensing will visit your house to confirm you do not need a TV licence.

You might also continue to receive letters from TV Licensing.

The TV Licensing website says: “If you have recently completed a No Licence Needed declaration and have received a letter from us asking you to buy a TV Licence, please ignore it, as you do not require a TV Licence.”

A No Licence Needed declaration usually lasts for two years meaning you will need to reconfirm you still do not need a TV licence after this time.

TV Licensing says: “Your no licence needed confirmation will let you know how long it will last.

“After this time, we’ll contact you to check if the situation remains the same.

“If you made a No Licence Needed declaration at your old address and have moved home, you’ll need to let us know if you still don’t need a TV Licence.”

If you do not have a TV licence and watch any live TV, you can be fined up to £1,000.

Who can get a TV licence for free or a discounted price?

If you are 75 or older and get Pension Credit or live with your partner who gets Pension Credit, you can get a TV licence for free.

Some people can also get a TV licence for £7.50.

You are eligible for a discounted TV licence if you live in eligible residential care home, supported housing or sheltered accommodation and are retired and over 60 or disabled.

You can get a 50% discount on your TV licence if you are registered blind or live with someone who is.

Do you think it is worth having a TV licence? Let us know in the comments.

American actor and screenwriter Gerrit Graham has died at the age of 77, with his family confirming the sad news in a statement online

American actor and screenwriter Gerrit Graham has died aged 77. Graham died on September 15 in Rhinebeck, New York, while battling lung disease alongside other health complications.

A statement shared on Facebook described Graham as a “beloved father, grandfather, devoted friend, and legendary character actor”. The announcement confirmed that Graham died “peacefully” with both his sons present at his bedside. He earned recognition for his work within the Star Trek franchise, portraying the alien hunter of Tosk in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and appearing as a member of the Q Continuum in Star Trek: Voyager (1996).

He also gained fame playing Beef in the 1974 rock musical Phantom of the Paradise, a performance that has maintained its cult status for decades. Graham launched his career working alongside Robert De Niro in Brian De Palma’s productions Greetings (1968) and Hi, Mom! (1970), before securing roles in numerous films including Demon Seed (1977), Pretty Baby (1978), Child’s Play 2 (1990) and National Lampoon’s Class Reunion (1995).

Celebrated for his skill with impressions and accents, Graham also featured in episodes of Laverne & Shirley (1978), The Wonder Years (1991), and Seinfeld (1992).

In addition to his acting work, Graham was also a talented screenwriter. His portfolio included work on The Little Mermaid, Oliver & Company and episodes of The Twilight Zone.

He also co-wrote Disney’s adaptation of The Prince and the Pauper alongside his brother, Sam, and Chris Hubbell. Beyond this, he was an accomplished songwriter and lyricist, working alongside Bob Weir of The Grateful Dead. The duo co-wrote Victim or the Crime, which featured on the band’s Built to Last album and was later performed by Weir and Rob Wasserman for their 1998 Live album.

Graham continued working until health issues forced him into retirement. “He will be remembered not only for the brilliance, wit, and depth he brought to his craft, but for the love and devotion he shared with his family and friends,” the Facebook statement continued.

Tributes have poured in for the star across social media, with Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright praising his portrayal of Beef in Phantom of the Paradise as “off-the-charts amazing”.

“He’s a constant joy, from his unforgettable line readings to those insane dance moves. It’s a joyously outrageous performance in a film that raises the roof with its sheer energy. If you haven’t yet discovered this solid-gold cult classic, I urge you to pay tribute at the altar of Beef as soon as you can,” he posted on X.

“Here’s to you, Gerrit, scene-stealer par excellence. We’re all sending salutations from the other side. Long live Beef!” Another fan shared on Facebook: “I was lucky enough to meet him, show him my Beef outfit and even show him video of me performing as Beef for Life at Last when we did a Floorshow of it. He was sweet as could be and even gave me a Gerrit Graham approval. Very sad he’s gone. You were definitely somebody Super.”

A third wrote: “12 years ago I got to meet Mr. Graham. He was so unbelievably humble and kind. To say he was a great and distinguished man is an understatement. Condolences.”

Fellow collaborator Bruce Kimmel also paid tribute, saying: “So sorry to hear this. I adored him. I directed him in The Creature Wasn’t Nice, with Cindy Williams, Leslie Nielsen, and Patrick Macnee. So creative and absolutely hilarious. We kept in touch. RIP dear Gerrit. You’ll be missed.”

Graham tied the knot with Deborah Cooper in 1982, and the couple went on to have two children together. He is survived by his brother Sam, his sons Jack and Henry, and his four grandchildren.

Like this story? For more of the latest showbiz news and gossip, follow Mirror Celebs on TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Threads.

On September 20, vintage buses will run between Bolton, Atherton, and Leigh along the 582 route, marking 120 years of Lancashire United Transport (LUT) and its transition to Greater Manchester Transport (GMT) 50 years ago.

Transport enthusiasts and the public alike are invited to take a step back in time and enjoy a nostalgic journey on these classic vehicles.

Buses in Bolton as The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester has launches a new exhibition. Pictures courtesty of Museum of Transport Greater Manchester

The free service, organised by TransporaBus, will operate every 20 minutes between 11am and 4pm, offering passengers a unique opportunity to relive the past.

LUT was once the largest independent bus operator in the UK, with services reaching Manchester, Bolton, Wigan, St Helens, Warrington, and Blackpool.

Although now a memory, this event allows people to experience the heritage buses on what is now the 582 route between Bolton and Leigh.

The 582 route has a rich history, having run for over 120 years.

New exhibition to open at The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester .Picture of buses in Boton Image: The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester

It has evolved from trams and trolleybuses to today’s Bee Network electric buses, reflecting the broader changes in public transport across the region.

The story of the Bolton to Leigh service began with trams.

The South Lancashire Tramways Company opened a route from Lowton through Leigh and Atherton to Four Lane Ends on October 20, 1902.

Through tram services to Bolton began in June 1909.

Due to financial difficulties, Lancashire United Tramways Ltd was established at the end of 1905, taking control of the South Lancashire operation in January 1906.

The company’s headquarters were moved to offices adjoining its Atherton depot later that year.

New exhibition to open at The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester .Picture of buses in Boton Image: The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester

Motor buses gradually became a more important part of its operations.

LUT’s first bus service attempt was in 1906, with regular bus operations beginning in 1920.

The buses carried the “Lancashire United” name, while trams continued to operate under the South Lancashire name.

Trams between Leigh and Four Lane Ends disappeared in December 1933 and were replaced by trolleybuses.

The trolleybus network also eventually gave way to conventional buses.

The Bolton to Four Lane Ends trolleybus service ended in March 1956, and the remaining South Lancashire trolleybus system closed in August 1958.

LUT became one of the best-known bus operators in the region.

New exhibition to open at The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester .Picture of buses in Boton Image: The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester

Its network stretched across the industrial towns of south Lancashire, with Bolton, Leigh, and Atherton at the heart of its operating territory.

The company was eventually bought by Greater Manchester Passenger Transport Executive on January 1, 1976.

It continued operating as a subsidiary under its own name until March 31, 1981, when its assets passed to Greater Manchester Transport.

The historic Bolton-Leigh bus link is associated with service 82, the predecessor of today’s 582.

The present Bolton-Atherton-Leigh 582 is considered the modern version of the historic route.

The 582 number itself dates from September 3, 2000, when the recorded route ran from Leigh through Atherton, Over Hulton, and Daubhill to Bolton.

Since September 24, 2023, the route has operated as part of the Bee Network, continuing a public transport connection whose origins stretch back to the tramways of the early 20th century.

As part of Sunday’s celebration, passengers will have the chance to travel on a piece of living history, with heritage buses taking to the roads.

New exhibition to open at The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester .Picture of buses in Boton Image: The Museum of Transport Greater Manchester

The event will not only be a celebration of the past but an opportunity for the public to see how public transport has evolved over the decades.

The heritage bus service offers a rare chance to experience transport history first-hand, providing an enjoyable day out for families, history enthusiasts, and transport fans alike.

The event is a fitting tribute to the enduring legacy of Lancashire United Transport, celebrating its contribution to public transport in the region over the past 120 years.

For more information, visit the TransporaBus Facebook page.

Gavin & Stacey’s Melanie Walters has swapped the frying pan for sequins this autumn

Gavin & Stacey star Melanie Walters has switched the frying pan for sequins as she enters Strictly Come Dancing 2026. The BBC One hit show returns this autumn with a line-up of celebs, and new hosts, but there’s a string to Melanie’s bow that will help with her fitness and flexbility on the dancefloor.

The 64-year-old Swansea star, known for her role of Gwen West in the sitcom, has had a lengthy acting career including television work includes roles in Coronation Street, Beyond Paradise, Being Human, Hollyoaks, Biff and Chip, and Doc Martin, while her film credits include Submarine, Resistance, High Tide and Save the Cinema.

But away from stage and screen the star is a successful Pilates teacher, who founded her own studio at home in Swansea. Originally caled, Practical Pilates Ltd – now Pili Pala, Melanie is still listed as an instructor, and her passion for core strength will undoubtedly give her the edge doing the flexible dance moves.

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Back in 2013, Melanie spoke to WalesOnline about her Pilates passions and explained why she took up the strengthening excercise regime.

“I took up Pilates originally because I had been told it was very good for improving posture. I had started to notice that my back was getting quite curved, a bit like those signs you see for old people,”she said.

“I had quite a round tummy and bigger hips – I was like a barrel with thin pipe-cleaner arms and legs – and was living in London and just felt I wanted to do some sort of gentle exercise. I took to it really easily. I wasn’t ready for yoga because I felt my mind would wander too much but I absolutely loved pilates from the very beginning. And when my body started to change shape, it was great.

“It helped my upper body strength, and slimmed me down in my centre and, what can I say, I’m no longer barrel-shaped!”

Melanie enjoyed Pilates so much that she went on to become a certified trainer at the Pilates Institute in London, gaining qualifications in specialised areas such as backcare Pilates, Pilates in pregnancy, clinical posture and functional rehabilitation.

“The great advantage with Pilates is that everyone can do it. There is no age limit. I have people who come to my studios who are aged from 15 up to about 90 years old. It’s very low impact so it is suitable for everyone. It is wonderful for improving mobility and flexibility but the real benefit is that is fantastic for the posture and builds strength in the important core muscles. It is also good for rehabilitation after an injury or fall,” she said.

“Pilates helps give a strong core stability to help with everyday physical challenges, a supple body that breathes deeply and a mind/body connection that uplifts the spirit and can ease stress. It doesn’t work your heart and lungs though, so that’s something you have to do in the gym.

“We moved back just before having [son] Rowan as it was easy enough to travel to London from here for jobs and as I got more interested in Pilates I found I could still keep the career going, but also have time to concentrate on my son and settling in Swansea.”

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While Melanie is still listed as an instructor on Pili Pala’s website, there are no classes scheduled for the rest of 2026 for obvious reasons – find out about the Pilates studio, here.

Since 2007, Melanie has been best known for her beloved portrayal of the mild mannered, omelette-obsessed Gwen West in the acclaimed BBC comedy Gavin & Stacey, a role she reprised for the smash hit 2024 Christmas special. Most recently, viewers have seen Melanie in two series of the BBC’s hit Death Valley.

Melanie Walters says: “Performing in Pantomime for the last 15 years, my Strictly ‘fix’ has always been watching in a dressing room rather than my front room. This year I am completely thrilled and happy to swap my fairy wand for sequinned dance shoes. I just hope I don’t follow Cinderella and leave one on the Ballroom stairs. I cannot wait to take part in this absolutely iconic show, it’s so exciting. See you in September!”

Melanie completes this year’s celebrity lineup alongside Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone, Bethany Antonia, Shaun Wright-Phillips, Graeme Hall, Lawrence Robb, Tabby Stoecker, and John Nellis in the 2026 Strictly Come Dancing line-up.

Strictly Come Dancing 2026 launches on September 18 at 7.25pm.