Exciting news Strictly Come Dancing fans! The first celebrity contestant for the 2017 series has been announced. Saturdays singer Mollie King will be taking part in the new series, which will return to the BBC in the autumn. The news was confirmed live on BBC Radio 1's Breakfast Show with Nick Grimshaw. Speaking about her participation in the show, Mollie, 30, said: "I'm a huge fan of Strictly Come Dancing, so I can't actually believe I'm lucky enough to be taking part in it this year! I'm literally so excited to learn Latin and ballroom dancing, and of course I can't wait to get into the sequins too! It's going to be a lot of hard work but I'm ready for the challenge."
© Photo: Getty ImagesMollie King is the first confirmed celebrity contestant for Strictly 2017
The singer told Grimmie that it had been tough to keep news of her involvement a secret, and that she had only told her parents and bandmate Frankie Bridge, who made it to the Strictly final in 2014. "It's something that I always said I wanted to do,” she said. “I've always watched it with my family and it looks so fun. I'm going to be giving it my all. I'm very competitive so watch out, other contestants, I'm taking you down!"
Strictly stars reunite for rehearsals ahead of 2017 series: see the photo!
This year will see three new professionals take to the dance floor: Amy Dowden from South Wales, Australian dancer Dianne Buswell and Ukraine's Nadiya Bychkova. There is also a new judge joining the show, with Shirley Ballas taking over from Len Goodman as head judge.
A number of famous faces have been linked to this year's show, with rumoured contestants including singer Matt Goss, Olly Murs and Dame Joan Collins.The names of the other celebrities taking part in Strictly are to be revealed in the coming weeks.
