Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe, Josh Widdicombe, Motsi Mabuse and Anton du Beke on Strictly Come Dancing on September 26, 2026 / © BBC/Guy Levy
All four judges and all three hosts will take part in tonight’s opening dance on Strictly Come Dancing, it has been revealed.
The live shows will kick off with a pre-recorded group number that will include new presenters Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe, alongside judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
The professional dancers will join them on the dancefloor as they perform an ensemble routine to an epic orchestral version of ‘Joy’ by RAYE.
The BBC has also teased that “in a Strictly first, Saturday’s episode will begin with a journey like no other…”
Over the course of the epic two-and-a-half show all 15 of the celebrities and their professional partners will take to the dancefloor live for the first time.
As is custom, no-one will be eliminated in the first week and instead the scores will be carried over and combined with the scores from the following week’s second live show.
Strictly Come Dancing launches tonight at at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
