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Dani Dyer is headed back into the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom this autumn, after she was forced to withdraw from the competition last year.
Ahead of the first live show of the 2025 series, Dani announced she had fractured her ankle during rehearsals and was no longer able to compete in the series.
She was replaced by Amber Davies, who made it to the final with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
It had long been rumoured Dani would be making a return to the Strictly ballroom, with the TV personality previously saying she’d “love to do it again”.
Dani said in a statement of her joining the 2026 cast: “I am so excited to be back in the ballroom this September! I just cannot wait to get my dancing shoes back on and hopefully this time around I can actually make it to week one! I’m just over the moon and cannot wait to find out who else is doing it!”
Dani is a TV personality and actress who first rose to fame on Love Island in 2018.
She joined the reality series as an OG Islander and coupled up with Jack Fincham. The couple quickly became fan favourites and later went on to win the season.
They split up shortly after and she is now married to footballer Jarrod Bowen.
Since then, Dyer has appeared on The One Show as a guest reporter, co-presented MTV’s True Love or True Lies? and made a guest appearance on EastEnders. She co-stars alongside her father Danny in The Dyers’ Caravan Park – which has recently been renewed for a second season!
She joins the previously confirmed Lacey Turner, who was announced to be taking part this week. It’s expected that more announcements will be made throughout the summer ahead of the new season this September.
Turner said in a statement: “I am so excited to being making my way to the dance floor this year to be a part of Strictly Come Dancing!
“I am a huge fan and can’t quite believe I will be taking part and not watching at home this year! I look forward to meeting everyone and learning a new skill!”
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
