We're here, in August, what's that about?! Actually, it's not too early for those who keep track of dates and whatnot, but the years keep coming around quicker and quicker like a Viennese Waltz careening out of control. Who cares though when we're back to a full-length series and this intriguingly mixed bag of characters, let's dive in...
Tom Fletcher
Ah, after 10 years McFly return to our doors, alas no more Brucie to chase them with a broom. Is Tom now older and wiser? I'm not sure, but he's had a serious glow-up in the last decade, which I'm sure all the mums will appreciate. I went back to our 2011 blog to see what we said when Harry Judd joined and hilariously we were exclaiming how nice it was to see a young man aged 25 on the show...I'm feeling practically geriatric now.
Robert Webb
Flashdance! The banana dance! This guy is no stranger to a comedy routine or committing to an outfit, maybe he could be a dark horse? I already have hopes for something high-concept at movie week (Am I looking forward to movie week? What has the pandemic done to me?). I also want David Mitchell in the audience looking painfully awkward and Victoria Coren having a whale of a time. Ok, he'll probably be a bit dad-dancer, but have fun along the way.
AJ Odudu
I don't know much about AJ apart from bits of random shows I've seen her in, but she seems like a massive laugh so I'm looking forward to getting to know her better. Plus she's the first of a very strong Northern contingent this year. She even gave a shoutout to a misspent youth dancing in Preston's nightclubs and if you can handle Tokyo Joe's then Strictly holds no fear!
John Whaite
This felt a bit left-field but I remember John being lovely on Bake Off (that and when he nearly chopped his hand off) so I'm pretty happy to see him. At least he won Bake Off while it was still on the BBC dahlings, cake puns ahoy, but please don't bring back Clara's chef's outfit of doom! Maybe he's wisely spent his time on Steph's Packed Lunch buttering up Anton...geddit? Pair him with Johannes for our first all-male couple, the nation demands it!
Rhys Stephenson
Due to not having kids, I'm not really aware of Rhys, but gosh he seems like a jolly nice young man. Plus he did a video saying he really wants to dance in a cape, so we should not stand in the way of making his paso dreams come true. A bit of online research also shows he was is the National Youth Theatre, so maybe he has some underlying dancing experience to dazzle us with?
Sara Davies
Another Dragon on the series, it's been a mere eight years since Deborah Meaden had a good ol' boogie with Robin. I'm not as familiar with Sara, but she's another strong representative of the Northern army this year and seems like she's going to throw herself into it. Plus she's famous for a craft business, so I kind of want her to start customizing her frocks with pipe cleaners and crochet like a Pintrest mood board.
Katie McGlynn
Our first soapstar and she's been in not one, but two Northern soaps! I don't really know what she's up to in Hollyoaks, but she was wonderful in Corrie and had such a powerful storyline that I feel like she needs the fun of Strictly as a nice change, even though it was more than a year ago! Really hoping Katie does well and gets the chance to do some dramatic dances.
Dan Walker
Oh my gosh it's Dan Walker, the least surprising contestant after this narrative has been drawn out for years! He seems fairly excited, although I'm not sure he knows quite what he's let himself in for. Plus I've only now discovered he's a whopping 6ft 6! Can we get Natalie Lowe back in a pair of platforms to partner him?! Whoever he's dancing with, he's got the longstanding successes of BBC Breakfast presenters to live up to, so good luck Dan.
Tilly Ramsay
Ah, our yearly yoof contestant, I don't really know who Tilly is, but 9 million followers on TikTok would disagree. She's also got plenty of TV experience under her belt on CBBC, so I wouldn't count her out. Plus, fingers crossed, we get the joy of Gordon Ramsay in the audience as part of the family bubble - I cannot wait for Tess to shove a mic in his face and try and question him on live TV.
Greg Wise
Period dramas are not my thing, but Greg's announcement sent all quarters of Twitter a-flutter. I really hope they play up the whole Jane Austen brooding romantic gentlemen bit, because why not? His story about doing Strictly in memory of his dance-loving sister is also very touching and suggests he's an all-round good guy. More audience potential too, as we're all desperate for his wife Emma Thompson to turn up.
Nina Wadia
National treasure Nina, so well-loved by the British public that some people were convinced she'd already done Strictly. I love it when that happens. I'm not sure what to make of her dance-wise yet, she doesn't seem to have any prior experience so it could really go either way, hopefully whilst insisting you could make the Strictly props at home for nothing!
Rose Ayling-Ellis
It's our current Eastender for the year, so cue poor Frankie getting a massive storyline somewhere around Christmas! Hopefully not, because she looks really excited about getting her glam on and out on the dancefloor. As Strictly's first deaf contestant I am also looking forward to seeing the process of her learning to dance, lots for us to learn there too. More fun audience potential too; maybe Danny Dyer getting excited and deciding to sign-up for next year...?
Adam Peaty
This as the big signing for the year, I hope you all squealed like me! Getting an Olympian is always good, but a young guy at the top of his game when there's only three years to the next Games is really spoiling us. I hope we don't break him...On the dancing front, he's clearly fit but he's also built like a tank, whichever lucky pro gets him will be able to go hard on the training so I hope he has rhythm. The wardrobe department are probably buying a job lot of sheer material as we speak...
Judi Love
Loose Woman, stand-up, radio presenter and all-round no-nonsense missus, Judi is set to have an awesome time on Strictly. I don't think we've ever had a female stand-up on Strictly before, so glad to have ticked off that first. Plus, if you happened to see her trying to teach Curtis Pritchard how to do comedy for Stand Up to Cancer earlier this year, you will know she definitely deserves a treat...
Ugo Monye
A rugby player came as a surprise, I don't think we've had one since Ben Cohen back in in 2013, but they've historical done quite well. This really is the season for nostalgia! This is also the only way I ever learn anything about rugby, ever (don't get me started on cricket), so happy to welcome Ugo to the fold even if I don't know much about him. He's also 6ft 2, which is rounding off a series of really quite tall men in 2021, what have they been feeding them in the BBC canteen?! Bring on the female pros in their biggest heels.
So that's your class of 2021, who are you most looking forward too? Who will be the person you've never heard of, but will be stanning by week 2 and having t-shirts printed of by the final? Don't forget to vote in the poll and we'll see you here for the launch show!
