Strictly Come Dancing launch show: Chris McCausland is paired with Dianne Buswell
That faint tang of self-tan on the evening air can mean only one thing – a new year of Strictly! The ballroom favourite kicked off its 20th anniversary series with a launch show on Saturday night in which the 2024 celebrities – including comedian Chris McCausland, The X Factor winner Shayne Ward, DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles and singer and actress Toyah Wilcox – were paired up with their professional partners.
The pro dancers welcomed back Amy Dowden MBE after her breast cancer diagnosis with a fabulous quickstep routine. Clean Bandit performed their single Cry Baby and the show gave a lovely nod to original co-presenter Bruce Forsyth in its opening number. The competition begins in earnest next Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.
Here is the launch show as it happened
09:14 PM BST
And that’s all, folks
That’s it from me for tonight – if you haven’t had enough of Strictly then turn over to Channel 5 now where Strictly Come Dancing: Secrets, Sex & Scandals has a faintly wearying two hours of gossip to share. I’m not yet match fit, so I’m going to make a cup of tea.
I’ll see you next Saturday when the series proper starts on BBC One at 7pm – and put the first results show in your diary for Sunday 29th. Have a lovely week.
09:12 PM BST
The first group dance
Shayne and JB are both given early focal points of the dance – always a promising sign – and do very well.
Nick gives it all he’s got. Watching him, I feel oddly protective: like he’s a tiny flame who could go out at any moment. This is not what I expected from such a charismatic presenter, but Strictly loves a tryer, and his story will be an interesting one to follow.
Toyah gets the first lift of the series…and then another lift. At this rate, we may never see her put foot to floor.
Pete does some very good intensity which could bode well for that paso doble he’s going to have to google between now and next week. Then slightly ruins the effect by bringing across the floor like a delivery man moving a wardrobe.
Dr Punam and Montell both look like they’re having a ball which is a good start. Jamie is totally fine, but almost interchangeable with Tom.
Chris, I can’t get over that he’s doing this at all – next week might be the first time in Strictly history that I’ve looked forward to a training VT just to find out how he does it.
Tasha really comes alive in the final moments – great precision and looks like a really helpful partner to have. She’s definitely worth watching.
08:58 PM BST
Nick Knowles is paired with the longsuffering Luba
DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles is William Hill’s pick to be first eliminated, and this may turn out to happen as he’s paired with longsuffering Luba, who tends to be matched with contestants who don’t get beyond the early weeks. The DIY SOS crossover episode with Strictly, where some of the dancers came to help on a dance studio build, is truly charming.
Meanwhile Olympic swimmer Tom Dean MBE is matched with Nadiya Bychkova, whose last celebrity pairing was Matt Goss in 2022, so she deserves someone good. Here’s hoping Tom will shine just as brightly as his gold medal from Paris.
08:55 PM BST
It’s Vindaloo for Paul Merson
“Hopefully, I’ll be as gifted at dancing as I was at football,” says Paul Merson with all the optimism of a man who has never looked at the Strictly statistics around ex-footballer.
He’s partnered with Karen Hauer, Strictly’s longest-serving pro, who’s seen it all. Karen hasn’t had a “good” year since she reached the final with Jamie Laing in 2020 – so maybe Paul will discover inner talent…somewhere.
Karen is really going to have to call on all her powers to style out an American smooth to Vindaloo next week...
08:48 PM BST
Getting to know you
There’s huge applause for a photo of Neil’s baby daughter Havana – and even more when the camera zooms in to reveal “My daddy FINALLY has a partner!” printed on her babygrow. Well done to Neil’s partner, Chyna Mills, for that excellent gag and making Havana the shadiest baby since Family Guy’s Stewie Griffin.
Tasha has a lovely message from her brother Alexander, a longtime Australia resident, who gets 10 points immediately for managing to get a real kangaroo in his video.
Clean Bandit have no live animals in their performance of Cry Baby, but they do have a double bass entirely covered in crystals so in Strictly terms I think that’s a 40.
08:38 PM BST
The joke of the night goes to Chris McCausland
Dr Punam Krishan elicits the joke of the night from Chris: “None of us can believe we’re in the same room as a GP.” She’s paired with Gorka Marquez who, Claudia tells us, has scored more 10s from the judges than any other pro.
08:34 PM BST
Toyah Willcox is partnered with Neil Jones
Toyah Willcox is a triple threat: a pop singer, and a screen and stage actress. She even played Glastonbury this year! She’s also had a hip replacement, so if she turns out to be amazing (and she probably will), bang goes me using mine as a reason for why I have all the rhythm of a piece of paper. She’s paired with Neil, who hasn’t had a celebrity partner since 2021. Could Toyah be his reward for the long wait?
Love Island alumna Tasha Ghouri is the show’s second-ever deaf contestant – and she has a lot of dance experience. She quickly wins the audience over with a joke about repurposing her Strictly outfit as a wedding dress, while her boyfriend Andrew grins and does the textbook “British man fears being tied down” shrug. She’s paired with Aljaž who’s going to be very keen to prove himself after two years off the show.
08:29 PM BST
The reigning Strictly champions return
Pete and Jowita are dancing a paso doble to Firestarter by The Prodigy next week – “What’s a paso doble?” he asks blankly. This is neatly answered by last year’s winners, Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola , returning to do their winning dance…a paso doble. I’m sure that seeing a winning dance by two dancers after months of practice will have put Pete’s mind at rest.
Fresh from the dancefloor, Vito is paired with actress Sarah Hadland, who’s a total pro whether in Miranda, Horrible Histories, or doing whatever turns up for work (“I was levitated over the Bay of Biscay. I got ￡175, I was absolutely delighted.) Strictly doesn’t usually give a series winner a strong pairing the following year, but let’s see how they do on the floor.
08:25 PM BST
Olympic medallist Sam Quek meets her partner
TOWIE star and podcaster Pete Wicks isn’t giving much away, but he has an incredibly dry sense of humour. “I’m never going to be here again, am I?” he says. “Unless I’m Jamie.” He is matched with Jowita, who won with Hamza Yassin in 2022.
Olympic gold medallist and former Team GB hockey player Samantha Quek knows how to be tough, both in her sporting career and as the first female captain of Question of Sport – and she owns a very small dog (always the most demanding). She’s paired with Nikita Kuzmin, who came second with Layton Williams last year.
08:15 PM BST
Has JB’s mum predicted the winner already?
Montell Douglas aka Gladiators contestant Fire looks like so much fun and she’s paired with Johannes. Understandably, they both just scream at each other in delight: what a dream of a match.
JB Gill has run the gamut from JLS to Songs of Praise and he’s married to a professional dancer. He rolls out a lovely motto from his mum: “If someone has to win, why can’t it be you?” He’s partnered with Amy Dowden so his mum might well be a fortune teller.
08:04 PM BST
More pairings announced...
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick is teamed with Michelle Tsiakkas, who joined the show in 2022 – this is her first celebrity partner, but given Jamie won Strictly’s Christmas special last year, he’s a good pick.
Wynne Evans is paired with Katya Jones, who’s had highs (Joe McFadden and Nigel Harman) and lows (Ed Balls – but what an iconic low that was). Their first dance is a samba to a song by another iconic Welshman: Help Yourself by Tom Jones. Wynne has an anecdote about Tom appearing next to him while he was having a wee: “It was the most extraordinary day of my life.”
08:00 PM BST
Chris McCausland is partnered with old hand Dianne Buswell
Chris McCausland is paired with old hand (and two-time Strictly finalist) Dianne Buswell. They have lovely energy together and Dianne looks like she’s going to help Chris feel comfortable on the dancefloor despite all his self-deprecation.
07:51 PM BST
Amy Dowden MBE is welcomed back to the dancefloor
Introducing the returning pro dancer as “Amazing Amy” has slightly unsettling Gone Girl vibes – and these turn out to be deliciously deserved. What could have been a syrupy number about breast cancer awareness turns out to be a fabulously dark quickstep with Amy leading as a vision in pink.
Her family are in the audience and totally thrilled for her – and afterwards, her colleagues carry her off on their shoulders. It’s a delight to have her back and to see her so clearly respected by all.
Kai Widdrington gets a nice moment on camera, which the producers might regret given the number of stories this week about him “breaking his silence” about his disappointment at not getting a professional dancing partner this year.
07:44 PM BST
Our ‘competition winner’ contestants
Our four judges have finally wrestled their seats back from the pro dancers and are ready to welcome the celebrities. “They won’t know what nerves are like until they walk onto this floor,” says Anton. I’m not sure about that; they’ve all read the news stories over the summer.
The contestants look relaxed, fabulous – and oddly out of place on the Strictly dancefloor. This feels very much like looking at the placeholders before the actual celebrities come in.
Perhaps sensing this, the team behind the intro VTs aren’t messing about. Each is a potted CV showing why they deserve to be on the Strictly dancefloor, with enough heart and inspiration to get everyone on their side.
I don’t remember feeling that excited about Shayne Ward when he was on The X Factor but I’m sitting up straighter now. “I feel like a competition winner,” says Wynne Evans, the opera singer most famous for the Go Compare advert.
Chris McCausland, the blind stand-up comedian, says that he’s been practising in front of the mirror. “I may as well get the jokes out of the way,” he says. “I’m only here for three weeks.” Very glad that the Telegraph signed him as this year’s Strictly diarist, he’s just terrific.
07:30 PM BST
And we’re off!
OK, the 20th anniversary year is already notable for enrolling bandleader Dave Arch in a VT! Valiantly done, that man. The season trailer has been extended into a symphony of greenscreen – and when the dance moves into the studio, it’s a lovely touch to have BRUC1E as the in-studio set numberplate in memory of the series’ original co-host, Bruce Forsyth.
The school disco vibe continues with a dance to a montage of old classics that takes in 2Unlimited, Whigfield and Steps. Fortunately, most of the professional dancers are too young to be affected by the traumatic flashbacks this soundtrack may unleash on anyone over 40.
07:10 PM BST
What can we expect from tonight’s show?
Just 10 minutes to go! What’s coming up tonight?
To mark Amy Dowden MBE’s return to the show following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2023, the Strictly professionals will dance a celebratory quickstep routine led by Amy in breast cancer awareness pink and backed by a medley of Training Season by Dua Lipa, Busy Earnin’ and Keep Moving both by Jungle, and Candle Flame by Jungle and Eric the Architect.
We’ll also see a return from 2023’s series champions, Coronation Street actress Amy Leach and her dance partner Vito Coppola.
And, crucially, we’ll see who’s been paired with who. Here are the celebrities, and the professionals taking part this year: match your suggestions and see how many you get right.
Celebrity contestants
Our Strictly columnist Chris McCausland is joined by JB Gill, Wynne Evans, Toyah Willcox, Dr Punam Krishan, Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Shayne Ward, Sarah Hadland, Tom Dean, Jamie Borthwick, Montell Douglas, Nick Knowles, Paul Merson and Sam Quek. Read more about the line-up here.
Professional dancers
Aljaž ?korjanec, Amy Dowden MBE, Carlos Gu, Dianne Buswell, Gorka Márquez, Johannes Radebe, Jowita Przystal, Karen Hauer, Kai Widdrington, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley, Luba Mushtuk, Michelle Tsiakkas, Nadiya Bychkova, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin and Vito Coppola
07:02 PM BST
Bookies favour Shayne Ward
It’s always worth seeing who the bookies have pegged as early favourites – it’s in their interest to lose as little money as possible.
For outright winners, William Hill has EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick, who won last year’s Strictly Christmas special doing the quickstep with Nancy Xu, up there at 11/2, but former X Factor winner Shayne Ward leads the pack at 10/3. Now a TV actor, Ward has had plenty of experience in stage musicals since his time in pop and appeared on Dancing on Ice in 2013.
Next in line is Songs of Praise presenter JB Gill at 4/1. Another X Factor alumnus, Gill was in the boy band JLS for six years and won the Strictly Christmas special back in 2012, performing the jive with Ola Jordan.
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, who has a background in commercial dance, is next at 5/1.
At the other end of the board, DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles is 5/2 for being voted out first, with footballer Paul Merson, GP and broadcaster Dr Punam Krishan and opera singer Wynne Evans also in the bookies’ sights.
06:49 PM BST
The Strictly bus is coming, heaven help us
Will this year’s Strictly be a more sober affair? Not if the trailer’s anything to go by, which is gloriously vapid with fewer brain cells than an orange cat.
All our favourites are back – and a song by The Venga Boys, a 90s phenomenon I’d very much hoped would not be revived. But then, that’s the sort of curmudgeonly attitude we’d expect from Craig, darling. If you had “school disco on the Vengabus” on your season bingo card, congratulations, you’re off to a smashing start.
The dancers are driving through the British countryside on the Strictly bus. This is not a fuel-efficient vehicle if the amount of glittery purple smoke coming off it is anything to go by, and a lot of them face getting nicked for not wearing seat belts, but perhaps the DVLA has allowances for dance floors on wheels.
There’s Nikolai with his head out of the window like a golden retriever! Aljaž in the driver’s seat (he’s been away for two years; is his Strictly bus-driving license still valid?); Neil is curled up for a snooze cuddling a teddy bear with the name of his new baby, Havana. It’s kitsch, it’s insane, it’s like a year’s worth of VTs squeezed into 35 seconds.
06:39 PM BST
Chris McCausland is this year’s Strictly diarist
As Strictly’s first blind contestant, the brilliant stand-up comic and TV panellist Chris McCausland – and this year’s Telegraph Strictly diarist – might be its most ambitious dancer yet. “They say winning is as much about personality as dancing, so I’m going to be ramping up my lovability big time,” he says drily.
McCausland is a familiar face from panel shows like Have I Got News for You and Would I Lie to You? and a previous appearance on 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown saw him play entirely by memory – and solve the final Countdown Conundrum before his fellow contestants.
“I’m serious about Strictly. I want to show just how capable and resilient blind people are,” he says in his interview with the Telegraph. You can read Chris’s Strictly diary in The Telegraph every Friday from September 20.
06:24 PM BST
Hello and welcome to a new season of Strictly
This bumper year is starting under something of a cloud with far fewer female contestants than usual and it may not be the starriest group we’ve seen on the show, to put it midly, but we’re likely to see some serious celebrating of what is undeniably a truly impressive milestone.
A 20th anniversary is supposed to be emerald, but perhaps to Craig, it’s facial hair. Exactly what is he concealing underneath that startling new beard?
Some things remain comfortingly familiar – Tess ’n’ Claud presenting; Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood all return as judges; Aljaž ?korjanec rejoins the pro dancers after a two-year break – and there’s rejoicing to be had for Neil Jones who gets his first celebrity partner since 2021.