Strictly Come Dancing‘s professional dancer ensemble for the 2025 series has been confirmed, putting an end to swirling rumours, as all existing dancers remain, but Giovanni Pernice won’t make a return.
While hopeful for a comeback after his victory in Italy’s Ballando con le Stelle, Pernice will not rejoin, despite potential support from judges Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke, who have kept ties with him.
After previously quitting the show amid serious claims of abusive behaviour by his former dance partner Amanda Abbington, Giovanni was later exonerated following a BBC probe.
Returning to dazzle on the dance floor in the latest season are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola, accompanied by two fresh faces yet to be announced.
While it’s certain that not all professionals will be paired with a celebrity, the Mirror reports viewers will have to wait until autumn to see if their preferred dancers are featured in the main roster.
Sarah James, Executive Producer at BBC Studios, shared her enthusiasm: “The excitement is already building ahead of the new series and in addition to welcoming back our fantastic returning Pros, we are looking forward to welcoming two brand new Professional Dancers to the line up who will help bring another unforgettable series of dazzling dance and loads more besides to viewers later in 2025.”
Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC, expressed her admiration for the dancers: “The Strictly Professional Dancers are the beating heart of the programme, showcasing to viewers in every corner of the UK their world class talent by lighting up the famous Strictly ballroom every Saturday and Sunday night. Here’s to another fab-u-lous series!”.
Despite rumours last year that five pro dancers were on the verge of leaving the show, including Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Karen Hauer, Gorka Marquez, and Katya Jones, it has been confirmed that this is not the case.
This news follows a challenging year for the BBC show, which saw Pernice leave abruptly and Graziano Di Prima being let go by the producers after a video surfaced showing him kicking his 2023 celebrity partner Zara McDermott during rehearsals, an incident he acknowledged.
In another controversy, 2024 contestant Wynne Evans was removed from the Strictly Live Tour this year following the release of a video where he made an offensive sexual comment towards a co-star at the tour launch in Birmingham, for which he later apologised.
Wynne was caught on tape making an unsuitable sexual remark to Janette Manrara, the tour’s host, as she approached the group. He burst into song with: “Go Compare,” and then warned: “Not too close to Jamie [Borthwick],” before using the highly offensive term “spit roast” in relation to a vulgar sexual act.
In his apology, he said: “My language was inappropriate and unacceptable, for which I sincerely apologise.”
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