Who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 couples? BBC confirms the celebrity and professional pairings
They were decided during a 'speed dancing' segmentStrictly Come Dancing 2026 is now upon us and the celebrity and professional couples have been revealed.
Fifteen brave famous faces are taking to this year’s ballroom and they now all have an expert partner.
Tonight, fans got their first Strictly fix of the year as the series kicked off with a glittering launch show.
New hosting trio Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe also made their presenting debut.
And don’t forget… the judges!
So who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 couples we’ll be getting to know this autumn?
Who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 couples?
Everyone has been matched with a pro dancer – and these include several of the new five professionals to join Strictly this series.
Fans saw them paired in a fun ‘speed dancing’ segment. They all learned the same routine and were told to switch partners multiple times as they performed it.
Whoever the celebrity was dancing with when the music stopped is now their partner for the rest of the series!
The Strictly Come Dancing 2026 couples are:
- Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu
- Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby
- Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden
- Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin
- Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington
- Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley
- Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu
- John Nellis and Katya Jones
- Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola
- Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał
- Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec
- Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon
- Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr
- Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita
- Will Best and Dianne Buswell
When you can vote for your favourite Strictly couple
Tonight’s launch show was pre-recorded. This means fans are currently unable to vote for their favourite couple. And unfortunately, there’s a bit of a wait if you’re already rooting for one pair.
The first Strictly Come Dancing 2026 live show will air next Saturday (September 26, 2026). Each of the couples will be taking to the ballroom and performing their opening routine.
However, they can rest assured that no one can vote them off. Only the judges get to vote in the Week 1 live show. They will then carry their votes over to Week 2, which airs on Saturday, October 3.
And then finally, the vote lines will be open! The public vote and judges’ Week 1 and 2 scores will be combined and result in the first Strictly dance off of 2026.
This will take place in Sunday October 4’s show. Can’t wait!
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing unveils brand new show Strictly Pro Dance Off for 2026 series
