{"id":543660,"date":"2026-07-25T16:26:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:26:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/543660\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T16:26:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T16:26:13","slug":"strictly-come-dancing-reveals-five-new-professional-dancers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/543660\/","title":{"rendered":"Strictly Come Dancing reveals five new professional dancers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita will replace Gorka Marquez, Michelle Tsiakkas, Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova and Luba Mushtuk, whose departures from the BBC dancing show were announced earlier this year.<\/p>\n

Ukrainian dancer Isaeva, who is ranked in the world\u2019s top 21 Latin dancers, said joining Strictly was a \u201ctrue honour\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AleksandraAleksandra Isaeva will join the next series of Strictly (BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cThe thought of learning from and sharing this experience with such extraordinary dancers, choreographers and the whole Strictly family still gives me goosebumps.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to pour my whole heart into every performance, inspire others and be inspired along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Four-time Italian Latin dancing champion Priori, who is Isaeva\u2019s dance partner, said it was an \u201ceasy decision\u201d to join the show and added he was \u201cso excited to begin this new chapter\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Rome-born dancer said: \u201cI\u2019m ready to give my all, enjoy every moment of this amazing journey, and embrace everything it has to offer.<\/p>\n

\"StrictlyStrictly\u2019s new dancers will appear for the first time in the show\u2019s 2026 edition (BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

\u201cStrictly is where passion, hard work and entertainment come together, so being part of it is a real privilege.\u201d<\/p>\n

Monametsi has performed with the likes of singer Diana Ross and composer Hans Zimmer, has appeared on the TV dance competition Dance Yo Dumo as a member of Urban Wave, and performed as a dancer on The Masked Singer SA.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThis moment is bigger than me. I step into it with profound gratitude and deep humility, knowing it is the culmination of years of unwavering love, belief, and support from the people who dared to dream alongside me.<\/p>\n

\u201cRepresenting South Africa on the Strictly Come Dancing stage is far more than a career milestone, it is an honour beyond words, and I cannot wait to embrace every extraordinary moment of this journey.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"LethaboLethabo Monametsi is one of Strictly\u2019s new professional dancers (Blessy Images\/PA)<\/p>\n

British dancer Ingoldsby is a UK National Ballroom Champion, and described joining Strictly as a \u201cdream come true\u201d.<\/p>\n

She added: \u201cMy heart is so full of gratitude, excitement, and anticipation as I begin this incredible new chapter.<\/p>\n

\u201cDance has always been where I feel most myself, and to now share my heart, my creativity, and my love for it on a show that has inspired millions is an honour beyond words.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MaddieMaddie Ingoldsby has joined Strictly (Tomasz Reindl\/PA)<\/p>\n

Karmalita, who is a two-time National Latin Champion in his native Canada, said: \u201cJoining Strictly feels incredibly special, and I\u2019m honoured to be stepping into a ballroom with so much history and heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t wait to bring my own style, connect with the audience, and enjoy every moment along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

The five new dancers join Strictly\u2019s returning professionals Alexis Warr, Aljaz Skorjanec, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Julian Caillon, Kai Widdrington, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin and Vito Coppola.<\/p>\n

\"MarkMark Karmalita (BBC\/PA)<\/p>\n

Sarah James, executive producer at BBC Studios said: \u201cAleksandra, Cristian, Lethabo, Maddie and Mark are all outstanding world class dancers and we can\u2019t wait to see them shine under the Strictly glitterball this September.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gu won last year\u2019s edition of Strictly with former England Lionesses footballer Karen Carney.<\/p>\n

The 2026 series will see actress Jaime Winstone, EastEnders star Lacey Turner, former Love Island contestant Dani Dyer, Australian singer Delta Goodrem, celebrity hairdresser Chris Appleton, reality TV star Cach Mercer, TV presenter Will Best and Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey among the celebrities taking part.<\/p>\n

The new series will be hosted by Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe, as they take over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, who announced they were leaving the show late last year.<\/p>\n

Strictly returns to BBC One and iPlayer in September.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita will replace Gorka Marquez, Michelle Tsiakkas, Karen…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":543661,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,111,139,69,437],"class_list":["post-543660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tv","tag-entertainment","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-tv"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543660","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543660"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543660\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/543661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}