The songs and dances this year’s Strictly Come Dancing celebrities will be cutting a rug to on the first live show of the series have been revealed.
Saturday’s episode will see the 15 new celebrities and their professional partners take to the floor for their first competitive performance.
As ever, the series is kicking off with a number of Cha Chas, while both Nina Wadia and Ugo Monye have been given the somewhat unenviable task of beginning their Strictly journey with the Samba, which is notoriously quite difficult.
Here’s the full list...
- AJ and Kai are dancing the Jive to Gold Dust by DJ Fresh
- Judi and Graziano are dancing the American Smooth to Chain Of Fools by Aretha Franklin
- Katie and Gorka are dancing the Tango to Black Hole by Griff
- Nina and Neil are dancing the Samba to Mi Gente by J Balvin, Willy William ft Beyoncé
- Rose and Giovanni are dancing the Jive to Shake It Off by Taylor Swift
- Sara and Aljaz are dancing the Cha Cha to Beggin’ by Måneskin
- Tilly and Kikita are dancing the Waltz to Consequences by Camila Cabella
- Dan and Nadiya are dancing the Quickstep to Everybody Needs Somebody To Love by The Blues Brothers
- Greg and Karen are dancing the American Smooth to That’s Life by Frank Sinatra
- John and Johannes are dancing the Tango to Blue Monday by New Order
- Rhys and Nancy are dancing the Viennese Waltz to End Of The Road by Boys II Men
- Robert and Dianne are dancing the Cha Cha to Rasputin by Boney M
- Tom and Amy are dancing the Cha Cha to September by Earth, Wind And Fire
- Ugo and Oti are dancing the Samba to Iko Iko (My Bestie) by Justin Wellington ft Small Jam
The build up to the first live show has seen it embroiled in a vaccine controversy, after it was reported that three of the professional dancers have not been jabbed.
Last week, The Sun claimed that two of Strictly’s team of 18 professional dancers had made the decision not to be vaccinated against Covid-19, with the tabloid later claiming that a third has also turned down the offer to get jabbed.
This has apparently led to some feelings of “resentment” among members of the hit BBC show’s cast and crew.
Even Boris Johnson weighed in on the matter this week, with the prime minister saying he “does not mind lecturing” Strictly’s pros in urging them to get a Covid jab.
A spokesperson for the show told the PA news agency they could not comment on whether the BBC or the production team know the vaccination status of the professional dancers.
The rep added: “We do not comment on speculation of somebody’s Covid vaccination status.
“Strictly Come Dancing production has, and will continue, to follow strict Government guidelines to ensure the safety of all on the show.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday at 7pm on BBC One.