Strictly Come Dancing has announced three new celebrities joining this year's anticipated series.
The BBC dance contest is returning to screens this autumn, with a new line-up of famous faces taking to the dancefloor to impress with their dance skills.
Doctor Who and ER actor Alex Kingston, Love Island winner Dani Dyer and footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were unveiled as the latest stars on The One Show, sharing their nerves and excitement ahead of their dance debuts.
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Alex Kingston admitted that it was fellow actor and Strictly 2024 finalist Sarah Hadland who persuaded her to sign up to the show.
"When I saw Sarah performing last year, I just thought, 'Oh my God'. She's done it and she went all the way," she told The One Show presenters Roman Kemp and Alex Scott (a former Strictly contestant, who competed with professional Neil Jones in 2019).
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"I reached out and asked her what her experience of having been part of the show [was], and she was really honest with me about how hard it is, how overwhelming it can be but also how it absolutely changed her life and that she would do it again in a heartbeat."
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Reality TV star Dani Dyer admitted she was excited to get going. "Getting the opportunity to be on Strictly is the second most amazing thing I've done this year!" she said, having recently tied the knot with her footballer husband Jarrod Bowen.
"I feel very, very blessed and cannot wait to get my dancing shoes on."
Retired footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, who played for Leeds United, Atlético Madrid and Chelsea during his professional career, admitted he wanted to make his daughters and wife proud.
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"Swapping the pitch for the ballroom is certainly not something I’ve done before, but I’m looking forward to tackling a fun challenge!" he said. "Bring on a new type of footwork, with hopefully no own goals."
The trio join previously announced Gladiators star and Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, who was confirmed as the first Strictly star of the 2025 series on CBBC's Newsround.
The multi-gold-medal-winning Team GB sprinter will certainly have the stamina for rehearsals, having competed in two Olympic Games, and being a three-time European Champion, and a two-time Commonwealth Champion.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays 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.
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Emily is an experienced freelance entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily is a former Deputy News Editor and Evening News Editor at Digital Spy. She has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She's interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB's Kate Garraway (who "loved" her trousers).
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