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Strictly Come Dancing will reportedly be put out to tender by the BBC in 2027 after its major revamp this year.
The hit BBC show has undergone a big overhaul in the run up to the 2026 series, with new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe taking over from Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, while the professional dancer line-up for the new season has also been rejigged.
Under the terms of its 2016 Charter agreement, the BBC has an obligation to open its television and radio production to competitive tender.
And while production could remain the same, The Sun reports that the show’s cast and crew fear the series could be taken over by another production company.
A source told the publication that the new presenting line-up has not gone down well with fans of the show and that there is “a lot of pressure on the next series”.
The source added: “There’s also the not so small matter of it going up for tender next year. We’ve seen what happened with Doctor Who and there are fears the same could happen to Strictly.”
The BBC declined to comment when approached by Radio Times.
Eight cast members have been confirmed to be joining the show’s 2026 line-up so far, with Dame Sarah Storey, Lacey Turner and Dani Dyer among this year’s famous faces.
They’ll be joined by the likes of Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer and Will Best.
The rest of the 2026 cast will be announced in due course and ahead of the show’s comeback on BBC One and iPlayer this September.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on catch-up on BBC iPlayer.
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Authors
Molly Moss is a Trends Writer for Radio Times, covering the latest trends across TV, film and more. She has an MA in Newspaper Journalism and has previously written for publications including The Guardian, The Times and The Sun Online.
