Actress Jaime Winstone joins Strictly line-up
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- Jaime Winstone is confirmed as the eighth celebrity for Strictly Come Dancing 2026; the actress previously played Barbara Windsor in BBC biopic Babs and later stepped into Windsor's iconic Peggy Mitchell role in EastEnders flashback specials, most recently for the soap's 40th anniversary.
- Delta Goodrem, Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Dame Sarah Storey, Will Best, Cach Mercer and Chris Appleton round out the confirmed 2026 line-up, with Turner the first announced and Goodrem notable for representing Australia at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest.
- Dani Dyer is returning to the competition after fracturing her ankle during rehearsals with Nikita Kuzmin last September; she was replaced by Amber Davies, who went on to reach the Strictly final.
- Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe take over as presenters following the departures of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, with Ballas saying the trio were paired after chemistry tests.
- The line-up announcements were made significantly earlier than usual — the BBC typically confirms contestants in August — and judge Ballas hinted there are still names to come that will make viewers go 'wow'.
- Pro dancers Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Karen Hauer and Michelle Tsiakkas will not return, while Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones, Vito Coppola and Aljaz Skorjanec are back on the dance floor alongside returning judges Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
Why it matters: The unusually early announcement and a complete presenter overhaul — Widdicombe, Willis and Radebe replacing the long-running Daly-Winkleman duo — mark a deliberate reset for Strictly's 2026 series, while Dani Dyer's return after last year's ankle fracture converts a near-cancellation into a built-in redemption arc.
