Sunday, December 22, 2024

BBC confirms final celebrity for Strictly’s Christmas special

Must read

Strictly Come Dancing has announced the sixth and final celebrity taking part in this year’s Christmas special.

Racing driver and TV presenter Billy Monger completes this year’s festive star line-up, best known for his success in British Formula 3 and 4.

Monger – who had both his legs amputated after a car collision while racing in 2017 – will be taking to the floor for the special with professional dancer Nadiya Bychkova.

BBC

Related: Strictly confirms EastEnders star in Christmas special line-up

Of his upcoming dance challenge, Monger said: “I’ve spent the last 12 months training 20 hours a week for an Ironman world record attempt, but the thought of donning sequins in front of Craig Revel Horwood fills me with a fear I’ve never experienced before.

“This is about as far from my comfort zone as it can get,” he adds. “My family are big Strictly fans, so I’m doing it for them and to raise awareness for what I’m doing for Comic Relief next year. I’m just hoping my leg doesn’t fall off mid-dance!”

Monger will be facing competition on the night from five other stars including EastEnders actor Tamzin Outhwaite, who is partnered with Nikita Kuzmin.

strictly come dancing, blackpool, judges

Guy Levy//BBC

Related: Strictly Live Tour 2025 confirms first three celebrities

Completing the line-up is presenter Vogue Williams with pro Carlos Gu, Taskmaster‘s Josh Widdicombe with Karen Hauer, Drag Race UK‘s Tayce with Kai Widdrington and Gladiators star Harry Aikines-Aryeetey AKA Nitro with Nancy Xu.

The 2024 Christmas champion will be decided by the studio audience at the time of recording, who will vote for their favourite festive routine.

Helping them to make their choice will be returning Strictly judges Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas, who will critique and score the celebrity performances.

The Strictly Come Dancing 2024 Christmas special will air on BBC One and streaming service BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day, with a time yet to be announced by the broadcaster.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer. The Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer on Christmas Day.

Interested in talking about Strictly? Visit our dedicated sub-forum

Read more Strictly news on our dedicated homepage

Headshot of Emily Stedman

Deputy News Editor, Digital Spy 

Emily is an experienced entertainment writer and editor, reporting on all things TV, film, soaps and showbiz. An NCTJ-qualified journalist, with a First Class Honours degree in Journalism from the University of Sussex, Emily has previously worked at Hello magazine, BBC South News and GoodtoKnow. She joined Digital Spy as Acting Deputy News Editor in May 2023, and became Deputy News Editor the following year.
A small and big-screen obsessive – with subscriptions to every TV and film service under the sun – Emily knows her movie stars from soap stars, and is always clued up on the latest reality show dumping, just-dropped trailer or off-screen spat. She’s interviewed a number of celebrities over the years, with highlights including The Masked Singer host Joel Dommett and GMB‘s Kate Garraway (who “loved” her trousers).
Emily counts Sharon Horgan and Julia Davis as her TV heroes, and is a loyal Wes Anderson fan. LinkedIn

Latest article