Strictly Come Dancing returns to screens this weekend with the first live show of the 2026 series, airing on Saturday 26 September. Fans will see the 15 celebrity and professional pairings perform for the first time, with all couples guaranteed to progress to week two.
First Live Show Details
The pre-recorded pairing episode last weekend marked the debut of the new presenting trio Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe. The 2026 partnerships were also unveiled, including Love Island winner Dani Dyer reuniting with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, her partner from last year before injury forced her withdrawal. The pair will perform a Samba on Saturday's show.
Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu will dance a quickstep to Stop This Flame by Celeste, Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington will perform a Samba to Baiana by Barbatuques, and actress Jaime Winstone and reigning champion Carlos Gu will take on a tango to I Feel Love by Donna Summer. EastEnders star Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola will deliver a Cha Cha to How Will I Know by Whitney Houston.
Further Pairings and Performances
Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec will perform a Cha Cha to Don't Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon will tackle a quickstep to C'est Magnifique by Kay Starr, Olympian Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita will take on a jive to Animal by Katseye, and Love Island winner Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby will perform a quickstep to I Just Might by Bruno Mars.
Other performances include a tango to No Roots by Alice Merton from Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden, a Cha Cha to Smokey Joe's Cafe version of Hound Dog from Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley, a foxtrot to Alex Warren's Ordinary by John Nellis and Katya Jones, a paso doble to Aperture by Harry Styles from Emmerdale's Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal, and a Cha Cha to Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell from former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr.
No Elimination This Week
As is customary with the BBC One dance competition, no couples face elimination during the opening show, allowing every celebrity to progress to week two and showcase at least two routines to the judging panel. In previous series, the judges have combined the celebrities' scores from the first and second weeks to produce an overall total.
Viewers are subsequently urged to vote for their favourites, with the two lowest-scoring celebrities facing a tense dance-off in which only one star will survive.
No Results Show on Sunday
Given that no elimination takes place this week, there will be no results programme broadcast on Sunday evening. Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.
