All you need to know for Strictly 2026

It's been five months since we saw Karen Carney and Carlos Gu waltz off stage with the winner's glitter ball, and the good news is that Strictly Come Dancing 2026 is back this autumn.

But this year things will look quite different following some major changes.

There'll be new hosts after Tess and Claudia left the show, as well as change-ups among the professional dancers, and of course a new group of celebrities joining too!

Read on to find out all we know so far about this year's show - and let us know in the comments what new judges, dancers and celebrities you'd like to see!

We now know that 15 out of the 20 professionals will be back this year.

Returning to the dance floor will be Dianne Buswell, Julian Caillon, Amy Dowden, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Alexis Warr, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley and Vito Coppola.

Karen Hauer, the show's longest-serving female pro who has been with the show for 14 years, won't be returning.

In March she announced she had "decided this is the right time for me to close this chapter and take on new projects".

Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas are the other names who won't be coming back this year.

That means there will also be some brand new professional dancers joining the line-up, but who they are won't be confirmed until closer to the show's launch.

Right now the BBC is still currently considering who should replace Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly as hosts and have said this exciting news will be confirmed in due course.

If you're someone who doesn't like too much change then this is one part of the show where you can breathe a big sigh of relief.

Back once again for the new series will be the esteemed judging panel of Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Head Judge Shirley Ballas.

They'll be casting a watchful eye over the performances each week, giving their expert view on the dances and delivering their all-important scores.

Who will get the most 10s this series? We can't wait to find out.

This is another thing we don't know anything about just yet, but keep your eye on our website for updates and we'll bring them to you as soon as possible.

Don't worry! Themed weeks including Movies, Icons, Halloween and Musicals will be back.

Another thing to look forward to is the return of the Instant Dance challenge, a new but very popular addition for the 2025 series.

As always, there will still be the annual visit to the iconic Blackpool Tower Ballroom.