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Strictly Come Dancing Confirms Pairings for Revamped 2026 Season
The new launch format pairs the 15 celebrities live in front of the studio audience, with three specially choreographed routines replacing pre-recorded reveals.
- On Saturday, Strictly Come Dancing's 24th series launched with a new hosting trio—Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe—introducing a novel 'speed-dating' pairing twist for the 2026 cast.
- Love Island winner Dani Dyer returned to the ballroom after withdrawing from last year's series due to an ankle injury sustained during rehearsals. She reunited with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin during the broadcast.
- Attracting a peak of 5.8 million viewers, the episode showcased 15 celebrity contestants and five new professional dancers, including Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and EastEnders actress Lacey Turner.
- Fans praised Turner and Italian dancer Vito Coppola as an 'iconic' pairing, yet some viewers debated whether Dyer and Kuzmin's prior training gave them an unfair competitive advantage.
- The 24th series continues live on Saturday, September 26, when all 15 couples perform their first choreographed routines for the judges' scores in the show's new era.
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources27
Leaning Left5Leaning Right3Center17Last UpdatedBias Distribution68% Center
Bias Distribution
- 68% of the sources are Center
68% Center
L 20%
C 68%
12%
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