Strictly Come Dancing will announce celeb line up early amid Amanda Abbington claims – and first name is days away
STRICTLY Come Dancing is set to reveal its celebrity line up early this year as the series finds itself in the midst of ever-increasing scandal.
BBC bosses will let slip the famous faces bidding for the Glitterball Trophy next week – when, ordinarily, the big announcement would come later in August.
It came after The Sun reported on Strictly Come Dancing‘s 2024 sign-ups and all the rumoured names.
According to The Mirror, show bosses are eager to “push the button” on the big reveal to provide a fresh topic of conversation away from the ongoing scandal, which has seen Giovanni Pernice, 33, quit earlier this year.
It comes as he is currently under investigation by the BBC over misconduct after complaints were filed by several of his former celebrity dance partners – which he strongly denies.
These include his 2023 partner Amanda Abbington, who told Thursday’s Lorraine show she believed he “hated her” – as she reported her concerns three days in.
Nw no doubt those involved in the reality series will hope conversation will turn to the likes of DIY SOS host Nick Knowles and YouTuber GK Barry, who have been deep in discussions.
A source told The Mirror: “All the cast has signed up for this year.
“Despite reports of a struggle to get contestants, production has everyone now signed on the dotted line and they are really happy with the mix of celebs and can’t wait to get started.
“They decided as everyone was signed they should push the button and make it official sooner rather than later.
“Once the line up is out, people will have more to discuss and with any luck the focus will be on the future and not what has happened in the past.”
Previously, The Sun told how Dave Fishwick, 53, known for starring in Channel 4 series Bank Of Dave, was approached by BBC bosses earlier this year and informed pals he’d signed on the dotted line.
We also reported how blind star Chris McCausland was a shoo-in for the new series in another show first – after deaf actress Rose Ayling-Ellis won in 2021.
Homes Under The Hammer host Martin Roberts, 60, has been in talks with bosses.
Rugby star Danny Cipriani , 36, appeared in the dance show’s Christmas special last year and impressed with his footwork – with a source saying how the show “would love to have him back.”
Strictly's Full Scandal So Far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
Other rumoured names include actress Hannah Waddingham and DJ Roman Kemp.
Corrie star Helen Worth – who will quit her iconic role as Gail Platt on the ITV soap this winter – is also a name in the frame.
The speculation comes after Strictly Come Dancing’s professional dancers returned to rehearsals.
The bunch – who included Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones and Nikita Kuzmin – were all smiles as they rocked up to a studio in London.
This week, The Sun exclusively reported how show bosses had beefed up security for dancers “worried over the backlash” of bullying claims.
One face who was noticeably absent in the gang was that of Italian professional Graziano Di Prima.
He was axed after allegations of “physical incidents” towards show partner Zara McDermott, 27, came to light.
Meanwhile, Sherlock actress Amanda Abbington gave an emotional Channel 4 interview on Wednesday night with former co-star and news anchor Krishnan-Guru Murthy, in which she broke down in tears.
On the celebrity side, we told how Strictly was in talks to hire chaperones for celebs while they are training for the series.
It came after the BBC gave more detail on their new duty of care and the drastic new measures to be implemented following the overhaul.
During this discussion, she told how some of her alleged abuse was “sexual” in nature.
Krishnan said: “I heard, not from you, from somebody else, about an instance of, I suppose you’d call it humiliating behaviour of a sexual nature, is that right?”
An emotional Amanda replied: “Yeah. I mean, you know, one of the many things.”
Talking about the nature of the ‘abuse’, she added: “It was unnecessary and when stuff was getting thrown at me I’d shut down because I’ve been in abusive situations before in the past so I recognised the red flags, so I’d shut down and wouldn’t be able to do it because I felt attacked, not literally attacked.”
Hitting back at trolls who, she says, branded her a “snowflake” and sent her and her family death threats, Amanda insisted: “I go into anything wanting to work hard. I have a strong work ethic, the fact that people think I’m lazy and ‘she didn’t know what she was letting herself in for’. Yes, I did, of course I did, I know what I was letting myself in, but I didn’t know I was letting myself in for that.”
She added that she is confident her complaint will be investigated and that she is not the only voice, claiming six other Strictly stars came forward before her.