Strictly Come Dancing's professional dancers have marked the start of the upcoming series, with rehearsals for the 2026 run of the BBC One dance contest kicking off on Monday, July 27. This comes after five newcomers were revealed for the first time over the weekend.
New and returning professionals
The five new professionals joining the programme are Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita. They replace Gorka Marquez, Michelle Tsiakkas, Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova and Luba Mushtuk, who were announced to be leaving earlier this year.
This week marks the first time the new pros have worked with Strictly's returning professionals: Alexis Warr, Aljaz Skorjanec, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Julian Caillon, Kai Widdrington, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin and Vito Coppola. The dancers usually pre-record routines set to feature in the series, with dates for those pre-records already confirmed last week.
Social media reactions
Following their first day in rehearsals, Julian Caillon took to Instagram with a photo of the pros back together, writing: "First day of school for the class of 2026! Who’s else is excited about it this season??#bbcstrictly #strictly #classof2026."
Amy Dowden shared the same images and said: "And we’re off! What a great day with these beautiful, talented souls! Welcoming our fabulous new pros too! @bbcstrictly let’s go! #strictly #grateful #year10 #happy #dancers." Alexis Warr also posted: "Day 1 of Sophomore year. So grateful to be back in the room with these amazing people! Can’t wait for this new series." The programme is due to return to screens in September with a string of new celebrities taking to the dancefloor.
