‘The two Strictly Come Dancing scandals made me take signing up very seriously’

One of the celebrities who’s been cast for the upcoming season is 80s music legend Toyah Willcox, who’s behind iconic hits including It’s a Mystery, Thunder in the Mountains and I Want to Be Free.

When asked whether the recent controversies that Strictly’s faced impacted her decision to join the series, the 66-year-old explained that they made her think long and hard about the effort that she was going to put into competing.

‘It made me take what’s coming very seriously,’ she answered.

‘What’s happened in the last year is because this show is 100% committed to dance, and you’ve got to go beyond your own personal comfort zone. That’s always been very, very obvious.

‘I know, for me, with what’s been going on this year, I’ve been thinking, Well, can I push myself beyond my own limitations? And for me, it’s now or never. That made me commit to the show.’

One element of the Strictly 2024 celebrity line-up that fans noticed was the fact that there are only six women and nine men.

Former professional hockey player Sam Quek, who’s joined the show, expressed her shock over this disparity, remarking: ‘Not many of us, six of us!’

The 35-year-old added that she ‘didn’t even think twice’ about doing the show this year.

‘You put it down to the talent team. They pick what they believe is the right mix of people for this show.’

Quek added that her experience so far ‘has been so positive, so friendly, and I’m just enjoying every minute so far’, stating: ‘I mean, why would you not say yes? Obviously it’s got to come at the right time. It’s the right time for me at the moment.’

Following the allegations made against Pernice and Di Prima faced regarding behaviour on Strictly, it was announced that the BBC show was going to introduce chaperones who would monitor the celebrities and their professional dance partners in the training rooms.

Former X Factor winner Shayne Ward spoke about the introduction of this measure, outlining that they can be good to talk to ‘if you feel like you’ve got something on your mind, anything at all, or if you just want to have a chat, just have somebody for a bit of support, they’re there 100%’.

The 39-year-old pointed out that the chaperones ‘aren’t going to be there on your shoulder’ at all times, as they’re ‘just going to be sat away in the corner’.

DIY SOS star Nick Knowles said that there was a ‘very straightforward answer’ regarding if the claims made against pro dancers on Strictly made him think twice about signing up.

‘I think it’s true for all of us. We all started our journey now and we can only speak from what we’re encountering now. They’re the most amazing support team. Everything’s in place, both mentally and physically, to look after us.

‘We’ve got physios to make sure we’re physically okay, we’ve got people to talk to if we feel bad about that. Historically, it’s great that people are being listened to. So from our point of view, we just feel great.’

Speaking of the physical demands of Strictly, some of the celebrity contestants this year will have more experience than others of pushing their bodies to the limit, including Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, who won gold in Paris this summer.

‘I’m not going to say it’s as hard as training for the Olympic Games, but in terms of the demands on your body, it’s a world apart,’ the 24-year-old detailed.

‘It’s all impact. It’s on my feet, it’s on my ankles and stuff. I never have to go against gravity. It’s all in the water, so [it’s] different. You start to get sore in places you didn’t expect, you start using muscles you didn’t know were there. But at the same time, it’s working hard, training hard, and you have a competition at the end of it. It’s kind of what I’ve done my whole life.’

Dean explained that he’s having to take extra precautions to avoid injury, considering he’s using parts of his body he normally doesn’t focus on as much when he’s in the pool.

‘I’m back in the gym now, I’m doing loads of lower body stuff, robustness, knees, ankles. I’ve got long arms, long legs, so I need to make sure everything’s staying where it needs to be and staying in line,’ he stated.

Comedian Chris McCausland, who’s the first blind celebrity ever to take part in Strictly, opened up about how in the past, some of the best things he’s ever done in his life apart from stand-up have been ‘things where I’ve really had no experience in it and had to learn’.

‘This is so far out of my comfort zone that it’s going to be an experience,’ he shared.

‘I can’t see, but for me it’s about, I suppose, if I am able to do things that people wouldn’t think I’d be able to do, and things I wouldn’t think I’d be able to do, that’s good that’s represented in a positive way I think.’

Miranda actress Sarah Hadland revealed that it was an ‘out of body experience’ when they walked down the stairs of the Strictly ballroom for the first time, given Metro.co.uk and other media spoke to them on the day that they were filming the launch show.

Meanwhile, JLS singer JB Gill admitted that the ‘pressure is on’, given his bandmate Aston Merrygold has previously competed on Strictly and was a fan-favourite, and that he himself did the Christmas special 12 years ago.

The opera singer jokingly added that it’ll be ‘fee-dependent’ if he ends up singing on the programme or not.

Morning Live doctor Dr Punam Krishan told us that she’d been a ‘huge fan of the show for so many years’, revealing that doing Strictly had actually been on her vision board.

‘So when the call came, it was like a lot of public crying and gratitude and excitement,’ she said.

Former The Only Way Is Essex star Pete Wicks acknowledged that he’s starting from ‘ground zero’ with his dancing abilities, and at this point he’s still ‘lacking rhythm’.

However, it appears the 36-year-old isn’t going to hold back when it comes to his outfits, revealing: ‘I said to the costume department, go wild. In for a penny, in for a pound with this. If you’re going to do it, do it properly.’

Another athlete in the cast is Gladiators star Montell Douglas, otherwise known as Fire on the show, who’s previously competed at the Olympics and is a former British record holder for the 100 metres.

The 38-year-old explained that she’s having to ‘unlearn habits’ as a sprinter, such as the positioning of her feet, adding: ‘Having done Olympic-level sport, nothing is like this on Strictly.’

EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick, who did the Christmas special last year and won with his professional dancer partner Nancy Xu, recalled being asked to do the main show back in 2018, ‘but it never happened’.

He’ll still be filming the BBC soap while he’s competing in the dance competition, so he’s ‘just kind of budgeted for the next however long [that] I’m going to be really busy’.

Love Island star Tasha Ghouri defended doing Strictly, after some fans pointed out that she does have past dancing experience, even though she’s not done ballroom before.

‘I’m doing the show for me, for a positive experience. I’ve got to block out that noise,’ the 26-year-old said.