Strictly Come Dancing has announced Love Island star Tasha Ghouri as the latest contestant to join its 2024 series.
Tasha, who had been strongly rumoured for this year's edition of the dancing competition, was officially announced as a contestant on the Kiss FM Breakfast Show on Wednesday morning (August 7).
"Pinch me, I can't believe I'm going to be on Strictly Come Dancing!" said Love Island 2022 finalist Tasha.
Related: Best streaming services
"I've been watching the show since I was little – it's a firm Ghouri family favourite – so this is a total dream come true.
"I know it's going to be an unforgettable experience, and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dancefloor."
What to Read Next
Since her appearance on Love Island, Tasha has continued to raise awareness for the deaf community, collaborating with organisations including MED-EL and the Department of Education.
She also recently published her first novel, titled Hits Different, and hosts a podcast called Superpowers with Tasha.
Related: Craig Revel Horwood "utterly shocked" by Strictly controversy
After placing fourth in the Love Island summer 2022 final with her partner Andrew Le Page, the couple recently marked their second anniversary together.
Tasha joins a Strictly 2024 lineup which also includes comedian Chris McCausland, Morning Live's resident doctor Punam Krishan, plus musicians JB Gill, Toyah Willcox and Wynne Evans, who's the face (and voice) of the Go Compare adverts.
TOWIE star Pete Wicks has also just been announced for this year's series of Strictly – saying that although he finds the prospect of dancing on live TV during the Saturday night primetime schedule "absolutely terrifying", he's also "genuinely looking forward" to the challenge.
Further contestants for the 20th anniversary series of Strictly are expected to be announced in the coming days.
Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
Interested in talking about Strictly? Visit our dedicated sub-forum
Read more Strictly news on our dedicated homepage
Kate (they/she) is a freelance writer, editor, digital editorial trainer and data technician who first joined Digital Spy as an overnight freelance sub-editor in January 2011, after studying a postgraduate diploma in journalism at Salford University while working part-time as a social researcher.
In July 2013, Kate joined the DS staff team as chief sub-editor and following six years as the site's managing editor, their role expanded to incorporate Hearst UK's entertainment portfolio (including Digital Spy and its sibling titles Best and Inside Soap) between late 2024 and early 2026.
Kate has worked as a writer and editor since 2006, with bylines syndicated across the Hearst network and at organisations including Metro. They started their career as a TV production runner for the BBC and contributed to various music websites, blogs and zines while based in Manchester.
During her time at DS, Kate has previously been a freelance sub-editor and chief sub-editor.
Kate's team at Digital Spy were proudly nominated in the Best Subbing/Production Team category at the BSME Talent Awards 2022. Over the years, she has contributed to coverage of many, many Prime Days and Black Friday/Cyber Monday, and was part of the team that launched the DS weekly TV newsletter in November 2019 – followed by the Top of the Shops e-commerce newsletter in May 2024.
Kate's screen passions include Taskmaster (their biggest career regret remains turning down the opportunity to visit the house), nature documentaries, and live sport (up there with the greatest of all soap operas although if asked to choose, it's Corrie… every time).
Her highlights while working at DS have included interviewing Stevie Nicks on the red carpet for her documentary In Your Dreams, sitting at a press roundtable with Formula 1 commentary icon Murray Walker, watching a life-sized LEGO car being driven around Silverstone, writing an album-by-album retrospective of Lady Gaga's genre-defying career for Living Legends, and raising awareness of receiving and understanding a late-in-life ADHD diagnosis through the lens of Bianca and Freddie's EastEnders storyline.
Upon remembering to log off the internet, Kate enjoys live theatre, dance and comedy, appreciating nature, baking (badly), tending a recently-rented allotment (equally badly) and pampering one very spoiled rescue cat named Jolene.
LinkedIn
