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The BBC has announced significant changes to the professional dancer lineup on Strictly Come Dancing as the show gears up for its upcoming season. Five professionals have departed, including Karen Hauer, the longest-serving female dancer on the program, who has decided to move on after 14 years. Hauer shared in March that she felt it was the appropriate moment to “close this chapter and take on new projects.”
Alongside Hauer, Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, and Michelle Tsiakkas will also not be returning. While the BBC has yet to reveal who will fill their spots, it confirmed that 15 of last year’s 20 professional dancers are set to come back. The current panel of judges, featuring Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke, will continue in their roles, although there has been no announcement regarding the replacement of hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.
Karen Hauer expressed heartfelt reflections on her time with Strictly in an Instagram video posted in March, stating, “Strictly completely changed my life, not only as a performer and a teacher, but as a human being.” She spoke warmly about the friendships formed and admired her celebrity partners deeply. Hauer also joked about finally having the chance to join hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman as “ladies who lunch in the autumn,” even though she is soon to become a dance teacher in the comedy play Stepping Out from August. She added, “I’ll even miss standing in front of the judges… Smiling politely while sometimes secretly disagreeing.”
Other departing professionals shared their reasons for leaving as well. Gorka Marquez, who has been with Strictly for ten years, did not have a celebrity partner last season due to scheduling conflicts related to his judging role on the Spanish version of the show. He and his former partner, Gemma Atkinson, who was a Strictly contestant in 2019, are now life partners with two children. Nadiya Bychkova and Luba Mushtuk both announced their exits earlier this year, expressing excitement about future opportunities and more personal time. Michelle Tsiakkas, who joined the show in 2022 and did not have a celebrity partner last season, reflected on Instagram that she had hoped for a longer tenure but was thankful for the experiences she gained.
Among the returning professionals are notable names such as Amy Dowden, who was the first to be eliminated last year alongside celebrity partner Tom Skinner but has had to overcome significant challenges, including a breast cancer diagnosis and injury-related absences. The official celebrity contestant lineup has not yet been announced, though the new series is anticipated to begin airing in September. The returning professional dancers confirmed for the 2026 season include Alexis Warr, Amy Dowden, Aljaz Skorjanec, Carlos Gu, Dianne Buswell, Johannes Radebe, Jowita Przystal, Julian Caillon, Kai Widdrington, Katya Jones, Lauren Oakley, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, and Vito Coppola
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