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Keep Dancing: The Strictly Come Dancing Class of 2024

16 September 2024

Keep Dancing: The Strictly Come Dancing Class of 2024

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It seems to roll around quicker every year, but you know autumn has arrived when the long-running BBC celebrity-pro ballroom show Strictly Come Dancing is on our screens. Now it's back once again, this time for its landmark 20th anniversary series since it first started back in 2004.

15 new couples were paired up over the weekend just gone on the launch show, and now that the endless hard hours of training has begun for them all today, at Experiences HQ, we've decided to cast our eyes over this year's class and offer our verdict on who we think is going to be joining the winners' hall of fame in three months' time…

  • Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas

Best known for playing Jay Brown in EastEnders, this is not Jamie's first trip of the light fantastic on the Strictly dance floor, as he won last year's Christmas Day special. The real test will be proving he's capable of navigating both Latin and ballroom that will play a large part in winning favour with the judges and public to carry him to the final. For his partner Michelle, it will be her first main series partnering a celebrity, so we're interested to see how they get on and what she can bring.

  • Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones

Another regular professional dancer that has his first pairing for a few series this year is Neil, who is dancing with a lady that was a high priestess of punk in the 70s and 80s, and is also a star of screen and stage, an author and a TV presenter. It's certainly a mystery as to how Toyah will get on, but as Angela Rippon proved last year and Debbie McGee did likewise in 2017, ladies of a certain age have shown time and again that they have nimble footwork to carry them through the contest.

  • Tom Dean and Nadiya Bychkova

By definition, Olympic athletes are well accustomed to hours of arduous training to be at the top of their game, which stands them in particularly good stead for the intense hours of training the show demands of those taking part. Indeed, history has shown that many times they come out winners, for example Team GB gold medal gymnast Louis Smith, who lifted the glitterball in 2012. So Olympian swimmer Tom stands a very good chance of making it far into the competition.

  • Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe

Another gold medal winning Olympian taking part this year, who has become known to millions in the last year as the fierce "Fire" in the BBC's successful reboot of the Gladiators game show, Montell not only brings athletic experience and discipline but a grace and presence that is undeniable for a show like this. Certainly, with Johannes as her professional partner - and a real fan favourite, to boot - we're looking forward to seeing what fire they can bring to the floor.

  • Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell

Stand up comedian Chris is the first ever blind contestant to take part in the show. And indeed, as the launch show on Saturday night proved, he is certainly not going to be short of hilarious one liners to keep things light! It will be a new challenge both for him and his professional partner Dianne, who has made the final before, finishing runner up with YouTuber Joe Sugg in 2018 and EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier last year. As Rose Ayling-Ellis proved, it is possible to achieve the impossible, even with a disability, and so we are predicting the unexpected from Chris.

  • Wynne Evans and Katya Jones

A DJ on BBC Radio Wales, the Welsh operatic singer Wynne is largely known for his comical appearances as 'Gio Compario', a parody of Luciano Pavarotti on the GoCompare TV adverts. Katya, of course, has had some memorable pairings in her time on the show, most infamously of all with former Labour politician Ed Balls (who can forget their routine to "Gangnam Style"?). With all this in play, there's a chance they could at least get to the halfway point, maybe to Blackpool, although we imagine they'll be gone before the quarter final.

  • JB Gill and Amy Dowden

One quarter of chart topping boyband JLS, as well as being a farmer, author and TV presenter, like Jamie, this is not JB's first dabbling with the sequins and spandex, as he too won the show's Christmas special with a storming Jive to the Jackson 5's "Rockin' Robin" back in 2012, where then head judge Len Goodman referred to him as "the Jive Bunny". The current bookies' favourite, his only real obstacle will be avoiding the same fate that his bandmate Aston Merrygold had, when he did the show back in 2017 partnered with Janette Manrara and they came unstuck in Week 7, leaving the competition way before many thought they would. Nevertheless, we think he could be odds on to add a second glitterball trophy to his mantelpiece…

  • Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola

We've all seen her galloping, dancing around (usually to Heather Small) and having "such fun" in the joke shop as Stevie Sutton alongside her co-star Miranda Hart, in the latter's hit sitcom Miranda. Sarah is also partnered with one of the show's most popular professional dancers, Italian stallion Vito, who won last year with Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach. The pressure will undoubtedly be on her to help him lift the glitterball two years on the trot, but as she has also starred in dramas such as Bad Girls and Waterloo Road, we think she'll be fitting into the different characters of each of the many dances with ease, week in, week out.

  • Shayne Ward and Nancy Xiu

JB isn't the only former X Factor alumni in the running this year - so too is the winner of the 2005 series, Shayne, who as well as having a string of hit singles to his name, has also branched out into a successful acting career including a stint in Corrie as Aiden Connor. Many others have successfully made the leap from the Weatherfield cobbles to the Strictly dance floor before; amongst them, Kym Marsh, Natalie Gumede and of course Ellie Leach as mentioned above. We're sure it will be his goal(!) to get all the way to the end with Nancy.

  • Dr. Punam Krishnan and Gorka Marquéz

Another of the show's most popular professional dancers, Gorka has paired many finalists in the past, including Alexandra Burke, Helen Skelton and Maisie Smith. With those kinds of odds, it means that Dr. Punam, the resident GP on the BBC's Morning Live daytime show, could potentially be a dark horse as the series progresses. And, as she said by her own admission on the launch show, she's certainly not going to be short of remedies and treatments for all those blisters and bruises she'll incur in training!

  • Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystal

The permanently sarcastic and smouldering ladies' man, Pete, a former star of The Only Way is Essex, and host of the podcast Staying Relevant, is certainly an unusual choice for contestant this year. Even on demeanour alone, he'll undoubtedly be able to bring the raw intensity to dances such as the Paso Doble and Argentine Tango. With more lighthearted dances like the Cha Cha Cha and Charleston, it may be a different kettle of fish altogether. However, as his BFF and fellow podcast host, Sam Thompson proved winning I'm A Celebrity last year, there's every chance his roguish character will win over the voting public, and his popularity by association may rub off on Pete and see him through to the end.

  • Paul Merson and Karen Hauer

Ex-footballers on the show are always an unknown quantity - for every Robbie Savage, there's a Peter Shilton. It's against this backdrop that our hopes are not particularly optimistic at this stage for former Arsenal and England forward, now football pundit, Paul. Karen has paired some brilliant contestants in the past, including Westlife singer Nicky Byrne and comedian Chris Ramsey. But we suspect, based on what Paul demonstrated on the first group dance over the weekend, that she may be looking forward to having November off.

  • Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin

No stranger to lifting gold, as she memorably won it for Team GB in field hockey at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, Sam, who is now a presenter and team captain on A Question of Sport, is another contestant whose previous experience with tough training regimes will stand her in a strong position to make good progress through the series. As to whether she is final material or not? That remains to be seen…

  • Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtak

Host of the long running interior makeover series DIY SOS, Nick Knowles is certainly no stranger to helping others out of a tricky situation. Instinctively, we get the impression that he will last for the first few weeks of the series. But unless there is a shock in store, we can see him following the same trajectory as some of his partner Luba's other celebrity pairings such as NFL player Jason Bell and Olympic rower James Cracknell, and being out of the running by week 3 - week 4 at a push?

  • Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec

The model, dancer and star of Love Island follows Rose Ayling-Ellis in being the show's second deaf contestant to take part. Historically, those with a prior dance background are either in it until the end or fall at the last few hurdles before the final, and often have a trickier time winning over the audience voting at home (here's looking at you, Ashley Roberts from the Pussycat Dolls) who tend to throw their weight behind those who go on a 'journey'. But with a returning Aljaž as her partner, who has previously lifted the glitterball with model Abbey Clancy and finished runner up with Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson, they could surprise us all.

Who do you think's going to be lifting the glitterball trophy on Strictly this year? If you fancy doing some nifty footwork yourself, why not explore our range of All Singing All Dancing experience days we have available to book at UK wide venues, including our Learn to Lindy Hop for Two package. You can also book to enjoy a twirl around the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom and enjoy an Afternoon Tea for Two for just £59!

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