Former champions Jowita Przystał and Vito Coppola are the protagonists in a fiery, dramatic and passionate group dance

Fifteen stars of stage, screen and sport have taken the first tentative steps on their Strictly journey as they were paired with their professional dance partners

A former Strictly Come Dancing pro has jokingly called on the BBC to ‘stop booking Italian dancers’ after the recent controversies. Ahead of the premiere of the most recent season of the long-running dancing series, two professional dancers left the line-up following allegations of ‘bullying’ and ‘abuse’.

Strictly Come Dancing has unveiled the lineup of songs for week one of the competition, ahead of Saturday night’s first live show of the series. The show returned to screens last week with a dazzling pre-recorded show to mark the beginning of its 20th anniversary series after months of scandal surrounding the programme’s professional dancers.

COMMENT: The first live episode of the ‘Strictly’ season neatly side-stepped past scandals by leaning into the show’s surreal side, says

One of the celebrities taking to the dancefloor on this year's Strictly has revealed his burning ambition to win. The hit BBC dance show already kicked off with a launch show before the live competition gets underway this weekend with stars including comedian Chris McCausland,