The celebrity and professional dancer pairings for Strictly Come Dancing 2026 have been revealed. This year's pairings were decided through a "speed dating" dance challenge, a new approach for the BBC competition.
Among the duos is the show's only same-sex pairing this year, featuring House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia and professional dancer Nancy Xu. Dani Dyer is also back on the dancefloor, reuniting with Nikita Kuzmin after an injury forced her out of the competition last year.
Other pairings include Love Island winner Cach Mercer with newcomer Maddie Ingoldsby, hair stylist Chris Appleton with Amy Dowden, and Australian singer Delta Goodrem with Kai Widdrington. Dog trainer Graeme Hall is partnered with Lauren Oakley, while actor Jaime Winstone is dancing with reigning champion Carlos Gu. Social media personality John Nellis has been paired with Katya Jones.