With the summer only just starting to get underway, it might seem like the new series of Strictly Come Dancing is still aaaaages away – but we’re actually only just over a month away from the first of this year’s celebrities being revealed.
In the past few weeks, rumours have been coming in thick and fast about which stars will be getting their dancing shoes on for a very special series of Strictly, commemorating 20 years since the show first began airing on BBC One.
Celebrities from across the world of TV, sport, music and beyond have already being tipped to be in the pipeline, ahead of the first announcements in August.
So, to get you in the Strictly spirit, here are all the rumours about the 2024 line-up that have been reported so far…
Toyah Wilcox
In June, The Sun reported that British music legend Toyah Wilcox had signed up for Strictly, after being impressed by her friend and colleague Angela Rippon’s performance a year earlier.
She previously joked to The Mirror: “I’d have to do it sooner rather than later, because I’m not gonna be able to move.”
“I do understand how hard they work. I’m friends with Angela Rippon and she was extraordinary,” she continued. “But they’re rehearsing 10 hours a day every day. And then on Saturday, they do two shows.”
She added: “If I’m going to do it, it’s gonna have to happen within the next few years because I don’t think I’ll be able to move like that in two years’ time. But, you know, the whole world wants to do Strictly, I wouldn’t say no.”
Chris McCausland
Comedian Chris is another celebrity The Sun claims has signed up for the new series of Strictly.
If the comic does wind up on the line-up, he’ll make history as the first blind celebrity to ever take part in the long-running BBC dance show. Chris lost his sight at the age of 22, due to a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa.
Grilled about the rumours during an interview on This Morning in June, it’s fair to say the stand-up performer didn’t exactly keep his cool, confessing that Strictly is “on the cards” and that he’s still mulling the offer over.
Nicola Roberts
Best known as one fifth of the chart-topping girl group Girls Aloud, Nicola Roberts is rumoured to be following in her bandmate Kimberly Walsh’s footsteps by signing up for Strictly.
Nicola actually has some Strictly experience, having performed on last year’s Christmas special, with The Sun claiming she’s now being eyed for a spot on the main show after impressing producers with her moves.
In fact, Nicola is the last celebrity Giovanni Pernice ever danced with in the Strictly ballroom, after confirming earlier in 2024 that he won’t be back for this year’s season.
Mollie Pearce
Social media influencer Mollie Pearce will be best known to reality TV fans for her stint on the most recent series of The Traitors.
According to The Sun, bosses are hoping to capitalise on the show’s popularity by signing up a former contestant for Strictly, with Mollie at the top of their wishlist.
OG Traitor Paul Gorton and winner Harry Clark are also reportedly in bosses’ sights, too.
Nicola Peltz Beckham
Actor, filmmaker, model and, of course, billionaire heiress Nicola Peltz Beckham is best known on this side of the Atlantic for being married to David and Victoria Beckham’s eldest son Brooklyn.
The Sun reported back in January that Nicola’s team were hoping she could use Strictly to “boost her profile” here in the UK, with a separate story in the same tabloid months later claiming that Brooklyn might also be on producers’ radars.
Tommy Fury
Best known for his stint on Love Island and his boxing career, The Sun was the first to report that Strictly bosses were “keen” to sign up Tommy Fury for this year’s series.
The newspaper quoted an unnamed “source” claiming that bosses were “trying everything to get Tommy on”, in the hopes that his fiancé Molly-Mae Hague being in the studio audience might help “pull in younger fans”.
Hannah Waddingham
Considering Hannah Waddingham is an award-winning star of hit TV shows and films, we’d perhaps suggest taking this rumour with a pinch of salt.
However, back in April, The Mirror reported that the Ted Lasso star was “seriously considering” an offer from the BBC to take part in the hit ballroom dancing show.
Citing unspecified “insiders”, the outlet claimed Hannah is already a huge Strictly fan, with the only major “question” in her mind being whether her schedule would allow her to spend weeks at a time training for it.
Harry ‘Nitro’ Aikines-Aryeetey
Already an Olympic sprinter before he became known to Gladiators fans in the show’s recent BBC reboot, Nitro was said by The Sun in May to already be “on the verge of agreeing a deal” with Strictly producers.
According to The Sun’s “source”, BBC bosses are hoping to “cross-pollinate entertainment shows” by having Nitro sign up for Strictly, a year after appearing as a guest during one of the show’s live shows in December 2023.
Laura Kenny
Speaking of Olympians – they don’t come much bigger than Laura Kenny.
As Team GB’s most successful female athlete, with five gold medals to her name, The Mirror was first to report that the celebrated cyclist was in consideration to try out a brand new challenge on Strictly.
The tabloid quoted a “source” who claimed the athlete was the BBC’s “ultimate signing” ahead of the show’s 20th anniversary.
Grace Keeling
Internet personality Grace Keeling – known to her online followers as GK Barry – is another famous face who’s been heavily rumoured to be on the new Strictly line-up.
The Sun has reported that she has already had two meetings about taking part, with the tabloid claiming that bosses are hoping she can “draw in” a younger crowd for Strictly’s landmark series.
After garnering a following on TikTok, Grace is probably best known as the host of the Saving Grace podcast, on which she’s interviewed everyone from Katie Price and Rylan Clark to Jordan North and Alison Hammond.
Shona McGarty
An early pick for Strictly’s obligatory soap star slot, Shona McGarty was rumoured by The Mirror to be “in talks” for this year’s series.
Shona is best known for her role as Whitney Dean in the long-running BBC soap, which she stepped down from last year, having been with EastEnders since her late teens.
Interestingly, Shona was previously rumoured for this year’s series of Dancing On Ice, but ultimately didn’t appear on the line-up.
Dave Fishwick
Back in May, The Sun reported that Dave Fishwick, the community hero whose life story inspired the Netflix movie Bank Of Dave, was being offered a spot on Strictly’s line-up for 2024.
After initially dodging questions about the show during interviews on BBC Breakfast and Good Morning Britain, Dave later set the record straight on TikTok, revealing he couldn’t make the dates work due to commitments he’s already made overseas.
However, he did tease that perhaps 2025 could be his year...
Roman Kemp
Speculation about Roman Kemp signing up for Strictly began earlier this year, when he stepped down as the host of Capital’s breakfast show after more than six years.
Sadly, the man himself seems less enthused about the idea, insisting to OK! magazine the only way he’d say yes would be if he could dance with Johannes Radebe, as he thinks the media tends to focus too much on the “soap opera of who’s dating who” during Strictly season.
Louis Theroux
Yeah, we know, we’d be as surprised as anyone to see the acclaimed documentarian getting Strictly-fied, but it was actually Louis Theroux himself who suggested he’d be up for it.
He recently told Jonathan Ross: “I know I’ve had too many drinks when I’m in the kitchen dancing while listening to something on the smart speaker – often hip-hop – and I start doing the funky robot and then I start doing MC Hammer spins. And that’s where it happens and I start thinking I should really go on Strictly.”