It’s that time of year again! We’re finally starting to get the first announcements for the Strictly Come Dancing 2025 line-up and before the month is up we should know everyone who’s about to put their dancing skills to the test.
It’s always an exciting time as fans look forward to the months of performances to come, the stars going on their Strictly "journey" and some well-earned ‘FAB-U-LOUS-es’ from judge Craig Revel Horwood.
However, you’ll have to be patient for a little bit longer as Strictly Come Dancing is very much an autumn-winter show and here’s all we know about when it could return and who’s in the line-up so far…
When does Strictly Come Dancing 2025 start?
We don’t know an exact date yet but thanks to how long the show’s been running for, we can make an educated guess about when Strictly Come Dancing 2025 will start - and that’s mid-September. Since season 11 the series has always premiered (aside from 2020) in September and the launch shows typically happen in the 2nd or 3rd week of the month.
We know it always launches on a Saturday, so Strictly 2025 will most likely end up starting on either 20th or 27th September. This has yet to be confirmed by the BBC, but until they do announce a start date, we can at least rest safe in the knowledge that Strictly will be back on our screens sometime next month.
Strictly 2025 Line-Up
So far the only person we know is in the Strictly Come Dancing 2025 line-up is Olympian and Gladiator Harry Aikines-Aryeetey (AKA Nitro). He was revealed as the first cast member on 11th August and he’ll be familiar to fans already, as Harry took part in the 2024 Christmas special partnered with Nancy Xu.
It was clearly a brilliant experience for him as he shared, "After the Christmas Special, it was so nice I just had to do it twice! I’m so excited to be part of the Strictly family this series and I’m ready to give it all I’ve got. I’ll be bringing tons of energy to light up the dance floor. Let’s hope I’m as quick picking up the routines as I am on the track."
As well as appearing on BBC’s Gladiators, Harry is a multi gold medal winning sprinter for Team GB and has competed in two Olympics. He is a three-time European Champion and a two-time Commonwealth Champion.
When will we know the dance pairings?
We will only find out who is partnering with who when the pre-recorded Strictly Come Dancing 2025 launch show airs in September. Then, the following week, the live shows will start with those pairings giving performances of new dances.
It’s only from this episode that eliminations come into play too. Because it’s pre-recorded, the line-up will know in advance and have been working together on their first dances, though viewers will have to wait and see.
Who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2025 judges and hosts?
It's business as usual when it comes to the Strictly judging panel as Head Judge Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke are all coming back for the 2025 series. So are long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, so we can all look forward to some hilarious quips and glamorous outfits from those two when the show starts next month.
