Strictly Come Dancing announces three new names including Doctor Who icon

Three more stars who have officially signed for Strictly Come Dancing have been unveiled by the BBC, those being ER and Doctor Who actress Alex Kingston, former football ace Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and reality TV star Dani Dyer.

Kingston, 62, showed her nerves by declaring simply: “Aaaaarrrggghhh!” The actress has been working for more than four decades, gaining international fame as Dr Elizabeth Corday in the global hit TV drama ER for eight years. She is known to millions of Doctor Who fans as the iconic River Song, aka The Doctor’s Wife, a role she has played opposite three Doctors on screen.

Other television work includes a BAFTA-nominated performance as Moll Flanders, plus more recent roles in Douglas Is Cancelled, Treason, Boudica, Lost in Austen, A Discovery of Witches and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. On stage, her roles have ranged from Nurse Ratchet in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest to Lady Macbeth and Prospero for the Royal Shakespeare Company. It comes hours afterthe first name on the line-up was announced on Monday morning.

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Dani, 29, is hoping to capitalise on her Love Island triumph as she takes to the dance floor. After she was revealed on The One Show tonight, the newlywed said: “Getting the opportunity to be on Strictly is the second most amazing thing I’ve done this year! I feel very, very blessed and cannot wait to get my dancing shoes on.” Born in London’s Canning Town, Dani has fronted several documentaries and has teamed up with her EastEnders star father Danny for podcast Live and Let Dyers and travelogue series Absolutely Dyer: Danny and Dani Do Italy.

Having made guest appearances in EastEnders and Celebrity Gogglebox, Dani won Love Island in 2018 and has since amassed over three million social media followers. Dani got married to West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen in May this year, much to her father’s delight.

Dutch Chelsea star Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is a former premiership player turned football manager, best known for his prolific goal-scoring career. On joining Strictly he said: “Swapping the pitch for the ballroom is certainly not something I’ve done before but I’m looking forward to tackling a fun challenge! Bring on a new type of footwork, with hopefully no own goals.”

Jimmy has played for many clubs besides Chelsea, includng Leeds United and Atlético Madrid, earning a reputation for power, pace, and precision. Since retiring, Jimmy has become a regular soccer pundit on UK television and has managed clubs including Burton Albion and Northampton Town. He also served as an assistant coach for the England national team alongside Gareth Southgate.

It comes after Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, AKA Gladiator Nitro, was the first star to be announced for the 2025 series of Strictly. Fans already know he has some moves because he appeared in the Christmas special last year, partnered with Nancy Xu. He said the experience was so good he wanted a second go at it.

“I’m so excited and I’m ready to give it all I’ve got,”he declared. “I’ll be bringing tons of energy to light up the dance floor. Let’s hope I’m as quick picking up the routines as I am on the track.”

Harry, 36, is a former Team GB sprinter who became the first athlete to win gold medals at both 100 and 200 metres at the World Youth Championships. He also won gold in the 4x100m relay at the European Championships and at the Commonwealth Games. He has competed in two Olympic games and is a three-time European Champion and two-time Commonwealth Champion.

Earlier today, Strictly Come Dancing's latest professional dancer, Julian Caillon, has confessed to staging a row on television in an attempt to stir up more drama.

The Aussie-born star, who is set to join the BBC series this autumn, revealed that he played up for the cameras to satisfy producers who were keen on creating artificial tension to increase viewership.

Caillon was participating in the Australian version of the dance show, Dancing With The Stars, when he was partnered with a female celebrity whose busy work schedule often resulted in her arriving late for rehearsals.

The 29 year old dancer and choreographer alleges that the producers concocted a scheme for him to feign anger at her tardiness - a plan he willingly participated in.

"Reality TV is not necessarily what you think," he clarified later. "A massive aspect of reality TV is not really real. I remember in one episode of Dancing With The Stars, one of my celebrities was late to rehearsals and the producers were asking me to go around and pretend that I was frustrated."

"But she had something pop up and stuff happens sometimes and life gets in the way and we get a little bit late. It's not the biggest deal in the world. We just stay back a bit later. But they made this whole kind of thing out of it."

However, Julian admits that while he agreed to act irritated at the time, he would decline to do so if asked now.

"I think during my earlier experiences, whatever I was asked to say or do, I just thought, 'It's a privilege for me to be here. I need them to like me. So I'll just say and do whatever needs to be done'," he explained.

Speaking on the Try with Alex podcast, hosted by Australian Survivor contestant Alex Coe, he added: "In a way, it teaches you to know what your values are and what you're willing to do and not do. It made me be confident in my own choices.

"Now, I have clear boundaries and lines where I know, 'This is what I'm willing to do. If they ask me to say this, I'm just gonna say no'."

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