Luba Benched?

Neil Jones will reportedly have a partner again in 2021, after sitting out last year, but Luba will be on the pro bench.

The Sun reports that Luba will only be part of the pro routines this year. There is no source for this information, and the BBC have not made any comment.

Looking at this more closely, there will be eight male and seven female pros participating with partners in 2021, and there are nine pros of each gender in the team. That means two female pros and one male pro will sit out this year's competition. With three new male pros in the lineup, it means that at least two of them will get partners. I would expect to see Nancy with a celebrity this year as she has not had one yet. If the Luba report is true, it will be interesting to see if Jowita will have to wait until next year, or if another of the existing team will sit out. 

Vote For Strictly!

It's NTAs time again, and Strictly needs your help.

Strictly Come Dancing is nominated in the Talent category, alongside Britain's Got Talent, The Masked Singer and RuPaul's Drag Race UK.

Strictly 2021 participant Rose Ayling-Ellis is also nominated in the Newcomer category.

You can cast your vote here.

Celebrity Line-Up Is Complete

 The final three celebrities for Strictly were announced on Friday.

Olympic swimming gold medallist Adam Peaty is quite a signing. He has only just returned from Tokyo where her successfully defended his 100m breaststroke title. He's going to be at the peak of his fitness, so he should do pretty well in the stamina stakes. Will he do well in the dancing stakes, though? Who knows?

Comedian and Loose Woman Judi Love has been on TV quite a lot of late, so it wasn't a huge surprise that she has signed up to do Strictly. She is often a guest on chat and panel shows, as well as posting videos on social media. I like Judi, and I think she is going to have fun with dancing.

I was really excited by the final signing, former rugby player Ugo Monye. Ugo is a regular face on BT Sport's Premiership rugby coverage, and he's very humourous on TV. I think with the right partner he could do quite well. If he can dance, of course.

So there we have it. Fifteen celebrities all confirmed for Strictly series 19. I think I'm most excited to see Robert, Judi and Ugo. I loved Rose's intro video, so I can't wait to see how she gets on. I think AJ is going to look amazing even if she can't dance. And it's going to be great to see John in our first male-male couple. I really do hope the rumours that he'll be partnered with Graziano are true.

The live shows begin on 11th September.

More Celebrities Join Strictly Lineup

I'm struggling to keep up with all the new celebrities joining Strictly. There have been six more added since Tuesday!

First up is BBC Breakfast's Dan Walker. Unlike its ITV counterpart, the BBC Breakfast crew has generally done quite well on Strictly. The show has produced three winners. I have no idea if Dan will be any good, but he's on TV every day so the 'brand recognition' won't do him any harm. I certainly don't think he'll be first out.

According to The Sun, former Coronation Street actor Katie McGlynn used to date Giovanni Pernice. I haven't watched Corrie in decades, and I'm not familiar with Katie from any of her other work. Opinions won't be formed until she hits the floor.

This year's youngster is Tilly Ramsay. She is a chef and presenter. If you're not familiar with Tilly, you will probably have heard of her father Gordon. I hope she doesn't share his penchant for sweariness! Again, I am not personally familiar with her, but I look forward to seeing what she can do.

Twitter lit up at the news that actor Greg Wise was joining the Strictly lineup. So I feel a bit out of a heathen admitting that I don't actually know who he is. I don't think I've ever seen anything he has appeared in. I didn't even know he was married to Emma Thompson. Now I know how the people who have never watched Peep Show must feel...

I'm back on safer ground with Nina Wadia. I'm old enough to remember her from Goodness Gracious Me, long before she headed to Albert Square. She is an accomplished actor, but can she dance? She's always come across as quite a fun-loving person, so I think she'll be great to watch in any case.

The final announcement for now is actor Rose Ayling-Ellis, best known for her role as Frankie in EastEnders. Not being an EastEnders viewer, I did not know that Rose is deaf. While a first for Strictly, Dancing With The Stars in the US has previously had two deaf competitors. Watching the clip of her chatting to Emma Barton, you can't help but smile. She's really looking forward to taking to the floor, and I'm excited to watch her.

Phew! That's it for now. Assuming we are having 15 celebrities in 2021, there are only three more to be announced...

Dragon Sara Joins Strictly Line-Up

Sara Davies from Dragons' Den has been signed up for Strictly this year. She follows in the footsteps of fellow dragon Deborah Meaden who participated in 2013. Sara has admitted to doing ballet as a kid, but hasn't danced since. Let's hope her performances don't make us say "I'm out".

Two More Celebrities Announced

Two more celebrities joining Strictly this autumn have been announced.

First up is baker and TV chef John Whaite. John won The Great British Bake-Off in 2012 and has since gone on to present cookery slots on shows such as Lorraine, This Morning and Steph's Packed Lunch. John will be the first male celebrity to be paired with a male pro. Not being a Bake-Off of daytime TV viewer, I am not familiar with John. Not that that ever matters in Strictly world, because we'll have plenty of time to get to know him if he does well.

CBBC presenter Rhys Stephenson was also announced on Friday. I'm not familiar with Rhys either, as I never venture that far down the EPG. But I didn't know who Karim was either and he was brilliant. It's harder to get excited about the contestants you don't know, but it really doesn't matter in the long run. I'm excited to see what all of our new celebs can do Can't wait for the next announcement!

First Three 2021 Celebrities Announced

Series 19. I can barely believe it. The first three celebrities were revealed on The One Show this evening. Seems really early, but I guess they are aiming to return to a full compliment of celebrities this year.

First up is McFly guitarist Tom Fletcher. Tom was regularly seen in the studio during Harry Judd's run to the trophy, and I'm almost surprised that it's taken them this long to get him on the show. Logic would say he will have a bit of rhythm as he's a musician, but there's more to dancing than just staying in time with the music. He's pretty popular, and I think he could do quite well.

Celebrity No. 2 is comedian and actor Robert Webb. I'm quite excited about this announcement. I love That Mitchell & Webb Look and Peep Show. I also loved Robert's performance on Let's Dance For Comic Relief in 2009. He'll have to take Strictly a bit more seriously if he wants to do well in the competition, but if he's not afraid of a leotard, he's never going to be afraid of a few sequins*.

*I know they use Swarovski crystals, not sequins. Don't @ me.

If you don't remember that winning performance, here's a reminder:

The last of today's announcements was presenter AJ Odudu. AJ is one of those people that I have seen as a guest on loads of shows (Would I Lie To You?, House of Games, The Last Leg), but I'm not actually sure where she started out. Helpfully, the internet tells me it was Big Brother's Bit On The Side. Most recently, she was the winner of Celebrity Karaoke Club, so has a reality show win to her name already. It was difficult to tell from that show if she is a mover, but she is going to look sensational in the costumes!

The next celebrity will be announced on the Radio 2 Breakfast Show tomorrow morning.