The BBC has confirmed plans for the 2026 series of Strictly Come Dancing, which will return to BBC One and BBC iPlayer this autumn. The show, produced by BBC Studios Entertainment, remains the broadcaster's biggest entertainment title by viewer hours, with the 2025 series averaging 7.8 million viewers and a peak of 8.6 million for the final, where Karen Carney and Carlos Gu claimed the Glitterball Trophy.
A roster of returning professional dancers has been announced, including Dianne Buswell, Julian Caillon, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley and Vito Coppola. New professional dancers will be confirmed closer to the series launch.
The judging panel will remain unchanged, with Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas returning to critique performances and award scores. Popular themed weeks such as Movies, Icons, Halloween and Musicals are set to return, alongside the Instant Dance challenge, which debuted in 2025. The annual visit to Blackpool Tower Ballroom will also feature.
Further details, including the new hosts, additional professional dancers and the celebrity cast, will be announced in due course. The series is commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, with Sarah James as executive producer and Nicola Fitzgerald and Jack Gledhill as series editors.
