Strictly Come Dancing has announced it’s 10th and 11th celebrity contestants, and we couldn’t be more excited to see them take to the dance floor!
It has been confirmed that Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and Jody Cundy CBE will be taking part in the 2023 series! Ellie is best known for playing Faye Windass in the beloved soap, and spoke about how much she was looking forward to the new gig, saying: "It still doesn’t feel real that I’m going to be doing Strictly!! It’s always been a dream of mine so I guess dreams really do come true!"
Ellie has handled some seriously gritty storylines on Corrie, including being pregnant at 13, going through menopause and reconnecting with the child that she gave up for adoption. She left the show in 2023, and went on to star in indie movies A Boy Called Dad and Moving On. Fans were delighted to see her join the show, with one tweeting: "Good luck Ellie, and welcome to the Strictly family! I look forward to seeing you grow as a dancer and performer," while another person added: "Another fantastic signing. Welcome to Our 10th Celebrity... so excited for her. She is going to be amazing! Good luck Ellie #Strictly."
Meanwhile, Jody is a World and Paralympic Champion has represented Great Britain at seven Summer Paralympics winning eight Gold, one Silver and three Bronze medals across swimming and cycling events. Speaking about the exciting new challenge, he said: "Excited to be welcomed into the Strictly family and throw myself head first into the world of ballroom dancing. So far away from what I’m used to, but I’m looking forward to the challenge and pushing myself way out of my comfort zone, especially as I’m always last onto the dance floor” Can’t wait to get stuck in, bring on the glitter and sequins!"
The actor has joined the likes of Amanda Abbington, Angela Scanlon, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Layton Williams for the upcoming show, alongside the amazing cast of professional dancers who will be hoping to lift the Glitterball trophy with the celeb partner! Love Island star Zara McDermott will also be taking part, and opened up about how much she was looking forward to it, saying: "I am so excited to be joining the world of Strictly! I grew up watching it every year with my nan and she was the biggest Strictly fan.
Every Strictly Come Dancing winner so far
- 2004: Natisha Kaplinsky (partner Brendan Cole)
- 2004: Jill Halfpenny (partner Darren Bennett)
- 2005: Darren Gough (partner Lilia Kopylova)
- 2006: Mark Ramprakash (partner Karen Hardy)
- 2007: Alesha Dixon (partner Matthew Cutler)
- 2008: Tom Chambers (partner Camilla Dallerup)
- 2009: Chris Hollins (partner Ola Jordan)
- 2010: Kara Tointon (partner Artem Chigvintsev)
- 2011: Harry Judd (partner Aliona Vilani)
- 2012: Louis Smith (partner Flavia Cacace)
- 2013: Abbey Clancy (partner Aljaž Škorjanec)
- 2014: Caroline Flack (partner Pasha Kovalev)
- 2015: Jay McGuiness (partner Aliona Vilani)
- 2016: Ore Oduba (partner Joanne Clifton)
- 2017: Joe McFadden (partner Katya Jones)
- 2018: Stacey Dooley (partner Kevin Clifton)
- 2019: Kelvin Fletcher (partner Oti Mabuse)
- 2020: Bill Bailey (partner Oti Mabuse)
- 2021: Rose Ayling-Ellis (partner Giovanni Pernice)
- 2022: Hamza Yassin (partner Jowita Przystał)
- 2023: Ellie Leach (partner Vito Coppola)
"We would dance around the house and I have such fond memories of that time in my life. I even remember the first-ever series, and being mesmerised by all the beautiful dresses! I can’t wait to throw myself into this experience and start training. It’s going to be incredible."
Krishnan said: "I’m surprised, delighted and slightly confused to find myself taking part in Strictly on the basis of ‘you only live once!’ and I can’t wait to start learning to dance, but I am slightly worried about my general decrepitude. I know I’m going to love it and have a brilliant time and just hope I’m not the only one enjoying my participation."
© BBCLayton added: "Absolutely buzzing to confirm that I will be taking part in THE most iconic dance competition in the UK! It's time to bring it to the Ballroom. So excited to learn new skills from the best. Bring on the sequins… ALL the sequins!"
