In June 2024, the BBC announced that Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Vito Coppola, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk, Lauren Oakley, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Michelle Tsiakkas, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu would be returning to the series. It was confirmed that Giovanni Pernice would not be returning to the show, following misconduct allegations regarding his dance teaching methods. Pernice however denied "any suggestion of abusive or threatening behaviour".
In July 2024, it was announced that Aljaž Škorjanec would be returning as a professional after a two-year hiatus, following his departure in March 2022, having last appeared in the nineteenth series. Later that same month, despite initially being confirmed to return for the series, it was subsequently announced that Graziano Di Prima would not be returning to the show, following allegations of misconduct against him towards Zara McDermott, his partner from the previous series. In a statement, Di Prima said that he "deeply regretted his actions that led to his departure from [the show]".
On 1 August 2024, prior to the official BBC announcements, Tom Dean confirmed himself as the first participant in the series, during an interview at the 2024 Summer Olympics after competing in the 4 × 200 metre freestyle relay. The official announcements began on 5 August, with Chris McCausland and JB Gill announced respectively, the former of which became the first blind contestant to appear on the show. Celebrity contestants continued to be revealed until 12 August 2024, when the full line-up was announced.
Celebrity | Notability | Professional partner | Status |
---|---|---|---|
Jamie Borthwick | EastEnders actor | TBA | Participating |
Tom Dean | Olympic swimmer | TBA | Participating |
Montell Douglas | Olympic sprinter, bobsledder & Gladiators star | TBA | Participating |
Wynne Evans | Opera singer & BBC Radio Wales presenter | TBA | Participating |
Tasha Ghouri | Model & television personality | TBA | Participating |
JB Gill | JLS singer & television presenter | TBA | Participating |
Sarah Hadland | Stage & screen actress | TBA | Participating |
Nick Knowles | Television presenter | TBA | Participating |
Dr. Punam Krishan | Morning Live doctor & author | TBA | Participating |
Chris McCausland | Stand-up comedian & actor | TBA | Participating |
Paul Merson | England footballer & pundit | TBA | Participating |
Sam Quek | Olympic field hockey player & television presenter | TBA | Participating |
Shayne Ward | Singer & actor | TBA | Participating |
Pete Wicks | Television personality | TBA | Participating |
Toyah Willcox | Singer, actress & television presenter | TBA | Participating |