Strictly Come Dancing has officially revealed the 15 celebrity-professional pairings for its 2026 series, and a widely circulated spoiler has been proven incorrect. The launch show, broadcast on Saturday night, saw the couples announced through a dance-based format, with the audience learning that Aljaz Skorjanec does indeed have a partner this year, contrary to the spoiler's claim.
Launch show twist and new presenters
The new presenting trio—Birmingham-born Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe—fronted the launch for the first time. They quickly alerted viewers to a change in the usual proceedings. Emma told the audience: "Spoiler alert, there is quite the twist." Johannes added: "Tonight our celebrities will be finding out their professional partners through the medium of dance." Josh explained that everything would be revealed in a way that would be "incredibly entertaining for everyone watching and incredibly tense for everyone taking part."
The celebrities were divided into three groups and danced around the floor, switching partners until their official professional partners were announced. As the names were revealed, it became clear that the long-running spoiler, which typically reveals the result of the elimination show a day early, had got the pairings wrong. It had claimed Aljaz Skorjanec would have no partner this year, but that proved incorrect.
Full list of Strictly 2026 couples
- Lacey Turner – Veto Coppola
- Dani Dyer – Nikita Kuzmin
- Delta Goodrem – Kai Widdrington
- Chris Appleton – Amy Dowden
- Will Best – Dianne Buswell
- Sarah Storey – Julian Caillon
- Jaime Winstone – Carlos Gu
- Melanie Walters – Aljaz Skorjanec
- Cach Mercer – Maddie Ingoldsby
- Bethany Antonia – Nancy Xu
- Shaun Wright-Phillips – Alexis Warr
- Graeme Hall – Lauran Oakley
- Lawrence Robb – Jowita Przystal
- Tabby Stoecker – Mark Karmalita
- John Nellis – Katya Jones
Fan-favourite same-sex pairing
Birmingham actress Bethany Antonia and her partner Nancy Xu have already emerged as one of the most popular pairings. They are the third female same-sex couple in the show's history, following Nicola Adams and Katya Jones in 2020 and Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer two years later.
Viewers expressed excitement on social media. One wrote: "Strictly FINALLY having a female same sex pairing with finalist potential is AMAZING!! Nancy has been one of my favourite pros since the day she joined, I adore her energy and joy. Her and Bethany are going to be a special partnership and a VERY important one!!" A second said: "bethany and nancy are so so so cute oh my WINNERS #strictly." A third added: "Bethany and nancy is such a suprise but im here for it I love them already."
The couples now have a week to prepare for their first live show, scheduled for Saturday September 26. The launch episode is available to catch up on BBC iPlayer.
