Strictly Come Dancing is gearing up to the big grand finale with just two weeks left to go, but it’s still managing to make time for the very special episode set to air on Christmas Day.
This year, six brand new celebrities are taking part in the show in the hopes of impressing judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke, and lifting the very special Christmas glitterball.
The show will see former Gogglebox star and Queen Of The Jungle Scarlett Moffatt do a Cha Cha Cha to ‘DJ Play A Christmas Song’ by Cher.
All Saints singer Melanie Blatt will be taking on an American Smooth to the classic Christmas song ‘Santa Baby’.
Gladiators star Jodie Ounsley, aka Fury, will be taking on a special Street-style routine to ‘Red Christmas’ by Kylie Cantrall, while EastEnders star Nicholas Bailey is keeping things classic with a Viennese Waltz to the ‘Most Wonderful Time Of The Year’.
Photographer://BBC
Meanwhile, comedian Babatunde Aléshé will be doing a Charleston to a version of ‘Santa Claus is Coming To Town’ while Westlife’s Brian McFadden is Jiving to Chuck Berry’s ‘Run Rudolph Run’.
The Christmas Day special will be pre-recorded with the winner decided by the studio audience.
It will be presented by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, their last Strictly show after they announced they were stepping down from their hosting duties once this series has finished.
BBC
Although there’s been many whispers about who is taking over the coveted gig, no decision will be made until next year, and Kate Phillips, Chief Content Officer at the BBC, recently confirmed the selection process for their successors hasn’t begun yet.
“We haven’t got time at the moment to start doing any screen tests or chemistry testing,” she told The Rest is Entertainment. “I don’t think we’ll really be looking at it until the New Year because we want to make sure we deliver a great Strictly series. Having said that, yes – my inbox has been inundated.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Catherine is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, and was the site’s News Editor between 2018 and 2024. Prior to that, she worked at OK! Online, and has interviewed a slew of celebrities across her career in entertainment news, including Tom Hanks, Cheryl and Noel Fielding. Catherine also has specialist knowledge in all things drag, interviewing a huge portion of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, and getting her own drag makeover for Channel 4’s show Drag SOS.  LinkedIn
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