Key events<\/p>\n
Show key events only<\/p>\n
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature<\/p>\n
And now we\u2019ve moved into the 80s with \u201cthe Queen Of Latin herself\u201d, head judge Shirley Ballas. This is quite fun, albeit a tad self-indulgent.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a>Group number from the pros and judges<\/p>\n We open with the Strictly troupe showing the stage-frightened celebrities how it\u2019s done. It\u2019s a 70s Come Dancing theme with Craig and Anton in period fancy dress.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>New-look titles<\/p>\n Our first look at this year\u2019s title sequence. Rictus grins and novelty dance moves all round. You\u2019ll be slightly sick of these by Christmas, especially Thomas Skinner\u2019s finger guns.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>And we\u2019re off!<\/p>\n Roll pre-titles VT, with the celebs making their way to the ballroom.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Refill your libations and take your sparkly sofa seats. We\u2019re about to go live to Elstree Studios for the first time this year\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n News and weather just winding up on BBC1 now. The forecast is fake tan and twinkly toes, with a chance of two left feet in places.<\/p>\n Just five minutes to wait now\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Male celebs tipped for early exit<\/p>\n Poor old Ross King is bookies\u2019 favourite for the first elimination. Just behind is Chris Robshaw, followed by Thomas Skinner. In fact, the five top tips for the wooden spoon are all male celebs.<\/p>\n Not long now until showtime\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n I hope you\u2019ve stocked up on snacks and fluids. Running time tonight is an epic 150 minutes – even longer than last year\u2019s inaugural live show.<\/p>\n A real test of our Saturday night stamina. It\u2019s 10 minutes until choreographic kick-off\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a>On your dance cards<\/p>\n Tonight\u2019s 15 routines include four cha-cha-chas, two jives, two sambas and two American smooths. Overall we\u2019ll see nine different dance styles, with more Latin than ballroom.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a mere 15 minutes until the glittery curtain comes up\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Let\u2019s play Strictly bingo!<\/p>\n Eyes down for the first time this year. Here\u2019s your traditional spotter\u2019s guide to on-screen happenings each week. Tick them off when you spy them! Take a drink for each! End up in bed fully clothed by 9.30pm! Here are tonight\u2019s 10 predictions:<\/p>\n A couple high-fives or does double finger guns on the new-look opening titles<\/p>\n Overly literal song choice to hammer home what the celeb is famous for<\/p>\n New Aussie pro Julian Caillon makes Claudia come over all funny<\/p>\n Shirley Ballas thanks the first couple to perform for \u201copening our show and our season\u201d<\/p>\n Ginger Neil hogs the camera up on the Clauditorium<\/p>\n Anton Du Beke pronounces the Rio carnival dance as the \u201csaaarm-bar\u201d<\/p>\n Celeb mentions Epsom salts\/ice baths\/blisters\/sweat patches<\/p>\n Craig\u2019s first critique of the year gets booed, so he tells the studio audience to pipe down<\/p>\n Everyone sings along to the Neighbours theme song, despite not quite knowing the words<\/p>\n Alex Kingston speaks German to judge Motsi Mabuse. Thomas Skinner definitely doesn\u2019t<\/p>\n Share<\/a>No elimination this weekend<\/p>\n Just a reminder of the form for tonight. The couples will be critiqued and marked by the judging panel for the first time but there\u2019s no public vote yet. Instead the judges\u2019 scores will be carried over to next week, when us viewers can vote for our favourites for the first time, it\u2019s all combined and the bottom two will be consigned to the dreaded dance-off.<\/p>\n So our courageous couples get two chances to impress before anyone is packed off home. Any predictions on who it might be? *cough* Thomas Skinner or Ross King *splutter*<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Dani out, Amber in<\/p>\n There was high drama before the contest had even begun this week. On Wednesday, Dani Dyer announced her withdrawal after breaking her ankle during rehearsals. She had a fall and initially thought she\u2019d just rolled her foot but it began to swell before an MRI scan confirmed she had fractured her ankle.<\/p>\n In a statement, Dani said: \u201cApparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I\u2019m not allowed to dance, so l\u2019ve had to pull out of the show. To say I\u2019m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on.\u201d<\/p>\n By Thursday, her replacement was announced – and it was another former Love Island winner. Welsh wonder Amber Davies won the ITV2 dating contest in 2017 alongside her ex Kem Cetinay. Since then, she\u2019s pursued a professional acting career, with lead roles in several West End musicals.<\/p>\n There are already grumbles that she\u2019s got too much dance experience and she instantly became the joint female favourite alongside Vicki Pattison. She\u2019s only had two days\u2019 training with partner Nikita Kuzmin but we\u2019ll get our first sight of her in a waltz tonight. That brings you up to speed on the sick bay latest.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Strictly 2025 goes live!<\/p>\n Ballroom butterflies in your stomach? First night nerves? Toes tingling with anticipation and adrenaline coursing through your jazz hands? Don\u2019t blame you. Yes, Strictly Come Dancing 2025 gets properly underway tonight as our couples hit the floor for their first full routines.<\/p>\n Evening all and welcome to the first live show of this year\u2019s contest. I\u2019m Michael, your virtual dance partner for series 23 (I know, right?) of the BBC ballroom behemoth. I hope you\u2019ll watch along with me as this year\u2019s sequin-spangled action kicks off in earnest.<\/p>\n After last week\u2019s pre-recorded launch show, our 15 newly formed pro-celebrity pairings now ake to the Elstree Studios ballroom for their first proper numbers together. Well, 14 of them do. There was another dropout this week, with a late replacement parachuted in just 48 hours ago. More on that shortly. Our celebs been toiling away in the training rooms, breaking in their dance shoes and nursing their sore feet. Now we get to see the results and rate their potential.<\/p>\n It\u2019s showtime at 6.55pm on BBC One. I\u2019ll be liveblogging from 6.25pm, providing build-up, rolling coverage, analysis, reaction and sideways looks to camera. So slip into your legwarmers, slather on some fake tan and see you on the sofa.<\/p>\n I\u2019d love to hear from you too. You can tweet me @michaelhogan, contact me on Bluesky or Threads @michaelhogan100, email me michael.hogan.freelance@guardian.co.uk<\/a> and the comments section below is back open for cha-cha-chat. I\u2019ll shoulder-shimmy down every now and again to gauge your reaction to the show, so please do share your thoughts.<\/p>\n The scoring paddles have been buffed. The glitterball is about to spin again. Nearly time to, yep, staaaaaart dancing!<\/p>\n