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Strictly Come Dancing fans are delighted by the Doctor Who crossover in the pairing between celebrity contestant Alex Kingston and professional dancer Johannes Radebe.
It was announced during Saturday night’s launch show that Kingston, who played River Song in Doctor Who, would be partnered with fan-favourite Radebe, who is the only Strictly professional to make an appearance in the sci-fi show.
In 2024, Radebe appeared in the Doctor Who episode “The Devil’s Chord” alongside Strictly judge Shirley Ballas in a song-and-dance number with Ncuti Gatwa as the 15th Doctor.
One fan wrote on X/Twitter: “Not them pairing Alex with the one pro who’s been on Doctor Who. Yep Alex and Jojo for the glitterball, thank you very much.”
“TWO DOCTOR WHO LEGENDS LET’S GOOOOO,” said another viewer.
A third fan pointed out that the pair should pay homage to the show in one of their routines, writing: “If they don’t do a Doctor Who themed dance one of the weeks, then it might be the biggest missed opportunity in the history of Strictly Come Dancing.”
One viewer added: “I can already picture them doing one on Halloween week. I beg them to do this for us.”
Kingston said during Saturday night’s show that Radebe was her number one professional choice, and later wrote on Instagram that it was a “Strictly dream come true”.
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Alex Kingston is dancing with Johannes Radebe (BBC)
Ahead of the launch, Kingston was asked by Radio Times if she was planning on performing a Time Lord-themed routine on the show, but she revealed that contestants don’t make the creative decisions.
“We don’t have a say,” she said. “We don’t know. And the dancers, the choreographers, they’re the ones that sort of go and make the decisions and I think we just are then told, ‘Well, this is what you’re going to be doing now.’”
Rabebe’s previous dance partners have included chef John Waite, tennis player Annabel Croft and Gladiators star Montell Douglas, with whom he finished in sixth place in last year’s series.
Kingston, known for playing Dr Elizabeth Corday in the medical drama ER, served as the Doctor’s wife opposite Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi’s incarnations of the Time Lord from 2008.
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Alex Kingston and her pro partner Johannes Radebe (BBC/Ray Burmiston)
Other pairings for the 2025 series include EastEnders star Balvinder Sopal and new professional dancer Julian Caillon, Former England rugby union player Chris Robshaw with Nadiya Bychkova and model Ellie Goldstein paired with Vito Coppola.
Meanwhile, viewers were left frustrated over professional dancer Amy Dowden’s pairing with controversial contestant, former Apprentice candidate Thomas Skinner.
Some viewers have highlighted how the spotlight on Skinner’s participation in the series may impact Dowden’s longevity on this year’s competition, while others suggested that the dancer’s popularity among fans may help Skinner’s chances.
Strictly airs weekly every Saturday and Sunday on BBC One.