HomeTVThree new professional dancers joining Strictly Come Dancing

Three new professional dancers joining Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing is adding three new professional dancers to its line-up ahead of the sixteenth series.

The new dancers are Italian Latin Champion Graziano Di Prima, Professional South African Latin Champion Johannes Radebe and four-time winner of the Italian Dance Championship Luba Mushtuk. They will take the professional dancer line-up to 18, marking the biggest pro line-up the show has ever had.

Speaking about joining Strictly Come Dancing, the new pros said:

Graziana Di Prima: ā€œThis is my dream come true! I still canā€™t believe I will be one of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing. I canā€™t wait to give all of myself on the dance floor!ā€

Johannes Redebe: ā€œJoining Strictly Come Dancing is one of the greatest achievements of my dancing career. It is such an honour to be chosen to be a part of an incredible cast and be part of one of the biggest shows that is celebrated worldwide. I cannot wait to get started and experience the magic with the UK!ā€

Luba Mushtuk: ā€œWords cannot express how thrilled I am to do what I love most on the greatest show on earth! I am super excited and so thankful for this priceless opportunity. I canā€™t wait to get started as a professional dancer on Strictly… bring on the sparkle!ā€

The new dancers will join returning pros AJ Pritchard, Aljaž Škorjanec, Amy Dowden, Anton Du Beke, Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Gorka Marquez, Janette Manrara, Karen Clifton, Katya Jones, Kevin Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Oti Mabuse and Pasha Kovalev.

Brendan Cole was dropped from the series earlier this year and Chloe Hewitt, who joined in 2016, will not be returning for the new series.

Louise Rainbow, Executive Producer, Strictly Come Dancing said: ā€œThis is the biggest line-up of pros that weā€™ve ever had on Strictly. We are so lucky to have such an array of talent. A huge thank you goes to Brendan from all of us for 15 amazing series of Strictly. We wish him all the very best with his future projects. We would also like to thank Chloe and wish her well.ā€

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this autumn.

Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip Ellwood-Hughes
Pip is the owner and Editor of Entertainment Focus, and the Managing Director of PiƱata Media. With over 19 years of journalism experience, Pip has interviewed some of the biggest stars in the entertainment world. He is also a qualified digital marketing expert with over 20 years of experience.

Must Read

Advertisement