Strictly Come Dancing has unveiled Paralympic legend Dame Sarah Storey as the latest celebrity to be joining the show’s 2026 line-up.
Dame Sarah, who has won 19 Paralympic gold medals as a swimmer and cyclist and is Great Britain’s most-decorated Paralympian, is taking on the new challenge after announcing her retirement earlier this month.
The news was announced on Friday 17 July through Strictly’s official social media accounts.
She said in a statement: “Embarking on a new challenge so soon after stepping down as an athlete is hugely exciting.
“I have always loved watching Strictly and my daughter Louisa is a very talented dancer, so to be able to learn from the best and hopefully understand even more about her world, is incredibly motivating! I can’t wait to get started!”
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Dame Sarah is the seventh cast member to be confirmed, and joins the previously-announced Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer and Will Best.
It was also previously announced that Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe would be taking over from former hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman for the new season.
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The new trio will be joined by professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Aljaž Škorjanec, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Nancy Xu, Kai Widdrington, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Vito Coppola, Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon.
Fans can expect the rest of the 2026 cast to 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.
