Strictly Come Dancing’s Shirley Ballas has shared a sneak peek into the 2025 series, which kicks off in just a couple of months. Although it feels like we have only just said goodbye to the 2024 contestants, a fresh batch of celebrities will be getting glitzed and glammed, ready for the ballroom.
Claudia Winkleman will return as co-host for the 2025 series alongside Tess Daly. Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, and Motsi Mabuse will be dusting off their numbers as part of the iconic judging panel.
Shirley has been the head judge on Strictly Come Dancing since 2017, following a successful dance career around the world. The 64-year-old is known as the “Queen of Latin” due to her specialisation in the Latin division of dancing. She moved to West Yorkshire aged 15, having previously grown up in the Wirral area.
The TV judge recently appeared on ITV’s This Morning, where she spoke to presenters Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley about the upcoming series.
While Shirley has to keep her lips sealed about the celebrity contestants, she did open up about a few show “changes.” She shared: “Well, I can tell you that we’ve got two new fabulous, fabulous professionals coming and joining the show. They are amazing, really.”
She continued: “And we’ve got some little changes there that you’re going to be really surprised about. Every year they make those few little changes and it’s really, really, really amazing.”
Speaking about the rumoured cast, she said: “We’ve got a cast, I know I say it every year, but we’ve got a cast of all casts. It’s going to be absolutely off the charts.”
Ben Shephard teased the possible contestants, as he joked “Paul C Brunson is here” [on This Morning], who is part of the rumoured cast.
Paul joked by showing off his dance moves to Shirley, while Ben said: “I think he would make a pretty good contestant, wouldn’t he, Shirley?”
However, the Strictly head judge quickly turned the spotlight onto Ben himself as she said: “I think you’d make a very good contestant as well, with your long neck and your beautiful little elegant hands.” She added: “And I’ve noticed your turned-out feet; you would be fabulous.”
Ben and Cat laughed at the idea, while hundreds of fans flooded to social media about the “rumoured” Strictly contestants. One said: “All these little teasers you keep giving us—Strictly is going to be epic this year.”
A second wrote: “Please let this be true. Paul Brunson would be awesome,” while a third added: “Can’t wait to see the new professional dancers and the little changes to the show.”
Another wrote: “Can’t wait, exciting!” Ben Shephard is best known for his presenting duties on ITV‘s This Morning, following a successful stint on ITV news programme Good Morning Britain. He has also hosted game shows, including Tipping Point and Ninja Warrior UK.
However, his showbiz career started long before he landed his TV roles. Ben has a degree in Dance, Drama, and Theatre Arts from the University of Birmingham. So it would make sense if he traded the news desk for his dancing shoes for the upcoming series. But eager Strictly fans will have to wait until closer to the time for the full cast list to be announced.