BBC Announces Celebrity Lineup for Strictly Come Dancing

The BBC has announced the names of the celebrity contestants for the 2016 series of its popular Saturday night reality show Strictly Come Dancing.
The BBC has revealed the names of the celebrities who have been booked to appear in the 2016 series of its ballroom dancing show Strictly Come Dancing. The latest series of the hugely successful show will begin with a preview programme to be screened on Saturday 11 September 2016 which will introduce the celebrities and their professional partners to the public.

Strictly Come Dancing Celebrity Contestants 2016

The identity of the 14 celebrities was revealed on the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing website. The seven men and seven women are:
  • Former conservative minister Ann Widdecombe
  • Good Life actress Felicity Kendal
  • Wales rugby star Gavin Henson
  • DJ, musician and artist Goldie
  • Actor Jimi Mistry
  • EastEnders actress Kara Tointon
  • TV presenter Matt Baker
  • Singer Michelle Williams, of Destiny’s Child
  • Comedienne-turned-psychologist Pamela Stephenson
  • Actress Patsy Kensit
  • Magician and showman Paul Daniels
  • England’s most-capped footballer, goalkeeper Peter Shilton
  • EastEnders actor Scott Maslen
  • Actress and Coronation Street star Tina O’Brien.
Previously, the celebrities have been introduced to their professional partners beforehand, but in 2016 the meetings will take place for the first time in front of the studio audience. Over the course of the programme’s eight series, some of the professional dancers, such as Anton du Beke and Brendan Cole, have because well-known celebrities in their own right.

The Strictly Come Dancing Success Story

Strictly Come Dancing began in 2003, paying homage to the old BBC dance competition of Come Dancing. The new concept partnered professional dancers with novice celebrity partners and put them up in front of a panel of judges, with one couple being eliminated each week on a combination of the judges’ scores and the viewers’ vote. Despite slight changes to the format over the years, the basic concept has remained unchanged.

 The first series had only eight couples and was won by newreader Natasha Kaplnsky and professional partner Brendan Cole. By Series Four a total of around 13 million UK viewers tuned in to see cricketer Mark Ramprakash and his partner Karen Hardy triumph over rugby star Matt Dawson and Lilia Kopylova (Daily Telegraph, “Strictly Come Dancing 2009: facts and figures”, 19 September 2009), although subsequent shows saw numbers drop. A number of ‘specials’ have also been broadcast.

 As well as being a smash hit in the UK, where it is fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly, ‘Strictly’ as it is known to its fans, has been sold abroad with almost 40 countries hosting their own versions, including Argentina and Brazil (homes respectively to the tango and the samba), China and America, where it goes out under the title Dancing With the Stars (The Independent, “Strictly a worldwide smash”, 11 November 2008).

 The worldwide franchise of the programme is estimated to generate around £60m annually, making it the world’s most-watched television programme and the BBC’s most successful export (The Independent). In the UK the programme has a live tour spin-off and extensive merchandising, including calendars, DVDs and even (new for 2016) evening dresses and makeup. to further enhance the Corporation’s coffers.

Strictly Come Dancing – Controversy



In its eight year run in the UK, Strictly Come Dancing has been no stranger to controversy, either on or off the dance floor. Arguments over scoring of the dancers, their controversial elimination, the even more controversial continuation of news journalist John Sergeant as a result of the viewers vote, have caused problems for the show’s producers on many occasions – including the suspension of phone votes during the semi-final of the 2008 series.

 The BBC also ran into trouble when it replaced popular judge Arlene Phillips with the 2007 winner Alesha Dixon, prompting the corporation to be accused of ageism. Reports of relationships between the dancers and their partners also raised the temperature – all helping to keep the programme in the news and in the viewers’ attention.
Although Strictly is often criticised, its mix of glitz and glamour has made it a popular family show on Saturday nights. The new series, which goes live on October 11 2016 with a results show the following day, may be a little less popular than in previous years and face competition from ITV’s the X Factor - but the programmes many fans will be delighted to see it back on screen.

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