Strictly Come Dancing has confirmed Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick as the latest celebrities to join the 2024 line-up
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and Olympic swimmer Tom Dean and have been confirmed as the latest stars to shimmy onto the dance floor for Strictly Come Dancing 2024.
Jamie and Tom were revealed as the 10th and 11th contestants during Radio 1’s afternoon show hosted by Mollie King and Matt Edmondson.
It follows hot on the heels of two contestants being announced on ITV’s Lorraine earlier on Thursday – actress Sarah Hadland and former X Factor winner and actor Shayne Ward.
There are now a total of 11 contestants announced for the BBC show, hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. The ones already announced are: TOWIE’s Pete Wicks, Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, JLS hunk JB Gill, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans, ’80s icon Toyah Willcox, Morning Live’s Dr Punam Krishan and comedian Chris McCausland.
The BBC has been progressively unveiling the fresh roster of celebrities set to compete in a bid to become ballroom champions, starting with Chris who was revealed as the first contestant on Monday, August 5.
Jamie is no stranger to Strictly having won the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
He said: “I had a ball doing the Strictly Christmas special last year, so when I was asked to join for this series it was the easiest yes! This is a fresh challenge and it will be so different to be learning a new dance every week and for the public to have their say. I’m hoping to be Salsa-ing around Albert Square in no time and I’ll be asking my Walford Strictly alumni for some words of wisdom. See you on the dancefloor!”
Tom is fresh from winning his third gold medal for Team GB from the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in the team 4 x 200m freestyle relay – and he admits he let the secret slip poolside.
He said of Strictly: “You may have heard me accidentally say it poolside first… but now I can officially talk about how excited I am to get stuck into something new, meet some brilliant people and get dancing. Bring it on!”
Tom Dean is heading for Strictly (Image: BBC)
While gracing the sofa on This Morning, comedian Chris, 47, shared the news and conveyed his thoughts to presenters Craig Doyle and Josie Gibson: “If anybody out there is thinking – How the hell is he going to do that? – then rest assured that I am thinking exactly the same thing. I don’t dance, I haven’t danced, I can’t dance, I can’t see the dancing I will have to do. What can possibly go wrong? Ok don’t answer that…!”
The professional lineup returning this year includes Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola.
After a two-year break, Aljaz Skorjanec is making a comeback to the ballroom for the 20th anniversary of the nation’s favourite show.
The BBC has announced that this year’s series will be particularly memorable as it marks its 20th birthday. A unique one-off programme will also be aired on BBC One and iPlayer, offering a trip down memory lane with 20 years of unforgettable entertainment, iconic performances, and heart-warming interviews with past celebrity stars, professional dancers, and judges.
Jamie Borthwick won the Strictly 2023 Christmas special (Image: BBC)
