Strictly Come Dancing 2026 airs its first live show tonight, Saturday 26 September, on BBC One. As is typical for the first show of the series, no couples will be eliminated, and every celebrity will make it through to week two, meaning they get the chance to show the judges at least two routines.
First live show details
Last weekend's pre-recorded pairing episode saw the show's new hosts, Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, present their first programme. The new 2026 dancing couples were also revealed, with Love Island winner Dani Dyer reunited with pro Nikita Kuzmin, who she was partnered with last year before she was forced to pull out due to an injury. They will be dancing a Samba on Saturday's show.
Bethany Antonia and her pro partner Nancy Xu will be doing a quickstep to Stop This Flame by Celeste, Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington are dancing a Samba to Baiana by Barbatuques, and actress Jaime Winstone and reigning champion Carlos Gu are taking on a tango to I Feel Love by Donna Summer. EastEnders actress Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola will perform a Cha Cha to How Will I Know by Whitney Houston.
Other couples and performances
Other couples include Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec dancing a Cha Cha to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon with a quickstep to C’est Magnifique by Kay Starr, Olympian Tabby Stoecker and her partner Mark Karmalita doing a jive to Animal by Katseye, and Love Island winner Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby doing 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 Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly trainer Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley, a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary by social media personality 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.
Elimination and results show
In previous years, the judges have used the celebrities' scores from the first week combined with the second week to give a total mark. Viewers are then encouraged to save their favourites, with the bottom two celebrities facing a dance-off where only one star will be saved.
Due to there being no elimination this week, there will be no results show airing on Sunday night. Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One.
