There will be 15 returning pros for the new series, as five leave the show.

New professionals are also set to be recruited and announced closer to the dancing show’s return in autumn.

BBC confirms the 15 pro dancers returning to Strictly 2026

The full list of 15 dancers returning from the 2025 series is:

• Alexis Warr
• Amy Dowden
• Aljaz Skorjanec
• Carlos Gu
• Dianne Buswell
• Johannes Radebe
• Jowita Przystal
• Julian Caillon
• Kai Widdrington
• Katya Jones
• Lauren Oakley
• Nancy Xu
• Neil Jones
• Nikita Kuzmin
• Vito Coppola

Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, and head judge Shirley Ballas will all return to the judging panel.

Themed weeks, including movies, icons, Halloween and musicals, plus the Instant Dance challenge, which was introduced last year, will also be back.

The BBC has also confirmed Strictly will once again make its annual trip to Blackpool Tower Ballroom later this year, and said further plans for the new series would be announced in due course.

Which Strictly pros have left the series for 2026?

Reports have suggested that there are plans to reinvent the series, particularly following the departures of long-time presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

Five pros that have been axed from Strictly ahead of the new series include:

• Gorka Marquez
• Michelle Tsiakkas
• Karen Hauer
• Nadiya Bychkova
• Luba Mushtuk

Karen was the show’s longest-serving Strictly professional in the current roster at the time she was axed.

With her exit, the longest-standing current Strictly professional is now Aljaž Škorjanec, who has only missed two series (in 2022 and 2023) since 2013.

Each dancer’s post announcing their exit was flooded with tributes from fans and stars alike.

The BBC has thanked each of the departing dancers for their time on the show, praising Tsiakkas for her “excellent performances” and “professionalism”, and Marquez for his “exceptional contribution”.

The new dancers that will replace the five will be announced soon, as will the new hosts.

Will you be watching the new series of Strictly Come Dancing? Let us know in the comments.

A British crew member, diagnosed with the hantavirus, is being prepared for medical evacuation from the Dutch-flagged cruise ship MV Hondius.

Meanwhile, a British passenger was medically evacuated from the ship on April 27 and remains in isolation in hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa.

A total of seven suspected cases have been identified, with three deaths so far, on the ship anchored off Cape Verde.

Sir Andrew, director of the Oxford vaccine group, said: “The Andes virus, which has been identified as the variant behind the outbreak, is known very rarely to spread between people with close contact.

“It means it is very easy to isolate people who are unwell and to follow quarantine and so on to avoid spread to other people.”

READ MORE: New cycle lane in Oxfordshire town brandished ‘laughable’ by residents

Sir Andrew Pollard (Image: Uni of Oxford)

Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group at the University of Oxford, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “The Andes strain of this virus is common amongst rodents in countries like Argentina in South America.

“With this particular hantavirus, the Andes virus, it is known very rarely to spread between people with close contact, usually symptomatic individuals who are in close contact with each other.

“And that’s important because it means it is very easy to isolate people who are unwell and to follow sort of quarantine and so on to avoid spread to other people.

“It’s not like the situation we had with Covid-19 in the pandemic where people could spread even without symptoms, and therefore it was able to spread very easily in the population.”

READ MORE: Botley West solar farm decision sparks controversy

The ship, which was sailing from Argentina to Cape Verde, has already had three deaths linked to hantavirus, with two Dutch passengers and one German passengers suspected to have passed from the disease.

Once the crew member, a Dutch colleague and another passenger had been evacuated the ship will start the three-day journey to the Canary Islands, docking in either Gran Canaria or Tenerife.

Dr Jacqueline Weyer, acting deputy executive director for National Institute for Communicable Diseases in South Africa, said that Andes virus is a “slow burner” and “moves really slowly” which “allows a window of opportunity to contain the outbreak”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said plans are being made for the “safe onward travel” of Britons on the ship.

Hantavirus infections, which are usually spread by infected rodents’ urine or faeces, can lead to severe respiratory illness and can sometimes be fatal.

While it is rare, hantavirus infections can spread between people, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Horse-bedding specialist Unibed, based in South Milford near Selby, is the headline sponsor for the World of Horses arena at Farm Fest.

Farm Fest, which is being held in Warwickshire from May 22 to May 24, is the UK’s biggest country fair and music festival.

It has been described by Mr Clarkson as “rock and roll farming”. Stars include all the main characters from the Amazon Prime show Clarkson’s Farm, together with Sophie Ellis-Bextor, 10CC, Hothouse Flowers and DJ Chris Moyles.

Jessica Vickers, commercial and operations director of UNIBED, said it is “tremendously proud to be playing a major role in such a high-profile and prestigious national farming event”.

“Our appearance at Farm Fest is a recognition of how far we have come, while also giving us a chance to say thank you to customers old and new,” she said.

Unibed’s Jessica Vickers with the chief executive of British Showjumping Iain Graham (Image: Supplied)

A Farm Fest spokesperson added: “We are working with Unibed to bring you a high energy celebration of horsepower in every shape and size.

“From thundering hooves to lightning-fast turns, this is where tradition meets adrenaline.

“Power. Precision. Pony-sized chaos. And pure countryside theatre.”