Strictly Come Dancing contestants pay revealed with 'huge fee' from BBC for just taking part

Strictly Come Dancing fans have been saying the same thing about Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington as they were seen taking a break from rehearsals. The pair are currently preparing for their second performance in the ballroom following their debut last weekend.

The Strictly Come Dancing star who 'really wants to win' has been named following the first live show of the series. The BBC One dance contest kicked off in its usual spectacular fashion on Saturday night (September 23) as the 15 new couples performed for the judges and viewers for the first time.

Strictly Come Dancing was back on our screens for the first live show of the series on Saturday evening, during which 15 hopeful celebs took to the floor with their professional partners.

The first live show of Strictly Come Dancing 2023 took place on Saturday evening, with plenty of famous faces taking to the dancefloor to show off their skills.

Strictly Come Dancing fan super sleuths believe they have already worked out who will be leaving this year's series of the show after just one first live show - and it's not who you might expect. As the 15 core contestants took to the dancefloor for their first dances, detective fans are convinced they've 'worked out' who will be voted off first.The show on Saturday got off to a flying start with incredible debut performances all around including Nigel Harman's powerful Paso Doble which rightfully topped the leaderboard. Proving how highly talented this year's group is, the leaderboard then proceeded to have four celebrities in joint second place with Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams, Ellie Leach and Amanda Abbington all scoring a high 29 points each.

It looks like Strictly saved the best until last as Casualty's Nigel Harman topped the Strictly leaderboard with Bobby Brazier, Ellie Leach and Layton Williams close behind. Strictly Come Dancing kicked off with a bang on Saturday night, 23 September, as 15 brand new celebs prepared to battle it out on the dancefloor for the first time in the series.The show opened with a dramatic performance by the professional dancers performing at a scenic, coastal viewpoint before the scene moved to the Strictly dance floor where the rest of the professionals joined the performance.

Strictly Come Dancing star Bobby Brazier left his proud father in tears after his very first performance in his Saturday night debut.The 20-year-old EastEnders actor took to the floor with his pro dancer, Dianne Buswell to perform the Foxtrot. Following their dance to McFly’s ‘It’s All About You’, the judges were left very impressed. Craig Revel Horwood praised Bobby for his “frame” and “storytelling”’.

Adam Thomas has seen his odds of winning Strictly Come Dancing dramatically plummet, just as viewers enjoy the first live show of the 2023 series.The ex-Emmerdale actor, 35, took to the iconic Strictly dance floor on Saturday night alongside professional dance partner Luba Mushtuk for the first time, but it looks like he really needs to impress viewers at home if he wants to bag the Glitterball trophy. In odds provided by William Hill to the Express, Adam and Luba's odds of winning the show have dropped, along with Zara McDermott, whose chances of being crowned the winner have also been slashed.

Katya Jones has become a familiar face on Strictly Come Dancing over the years, joining the show as a professional in 2016. In recent years, Katya has been paired with various celebrities, including Ed Balls and Nicola Adams. However, her most notable win was with Joe McFadden in 2017.Their chemistry and performances won them the coveted Glitterball Trophy.

The long-awaited moment finally arrived when Strictly Come Dancing fans found out who their favourite celebs were paired with as they battled it out on the dance floor in the opening show of the series. As well as revealing who the celebrities are paired with, Strictly opened with a dramatic performance from the fabulous professional dancers, who also performed alongside the Judges in an eye-catching routine, like never before seen on the show.The first dancing duo to be revealed was Amanda Abbington who was paired with her professional dancing partner Giovanni Pernice.

Our screens will be lit up once again every Saturday night as Strictly Come Dancing returns for a new season. The popular BBC One dance contest is back with its launch show on Saturday, September 16.

The latest series of Strictly Come Dancing is to return to our screens - and it is now in its 21st series. The show, which first started in 2004, has seen plenty of drama on and off the dancefloor as hundreds of celebrities have taken part in the popular BBC One show.

Strictly Come Dancing and Ted Lasso actress Ellie Taylor has revealed she is pregnant with her second child.The TV star shared the news with a sweet snap of her daughter kissing her bump, captioning the post: "Excited.Terrified. Grateful. Hungry." Alongside the snap, Ellie, 39, shared a message to anyone who may find it "weird" to see her post images of her pregnancy journey.

It's hard to mention Strictly Come Dancing without that earworm of a theme tune springing into your head. But from this weekend, we'll get to hear it for real as the hit BBC One dance contest returns to screens.

It's famously one of the most gruelling celebrity shows on TV, but Krishnan Guru-Murthy has admitted to being worried he has bitten off more than he can chew with Strictly Come Dancing.The journalist has said his biggest worry is being physically unable to do the dances as he has "never exercised" and is "overweight" and suffers from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, although the prospect of stepping into the ballroom has helped him to keep off some weight he lost earlier in the year. While he might not be expecting to compete with the likes of Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier, Krishnan, 53, explained why the time was finally right for him to do Strictly after it being a "hard no" in the past.

Amanda Abbington has told how she has a decades-long bond with her Strictly Come Dancing co-star Layton Williams after working with him in one of his earliest roles. Sherlock star Amanda, 51, and Layton, 29, both had roles in the 2011 CBBC mini-series Postcode about a Somali boy and his family who move to London and are now set to be reunited in the Strictly ballroom. And although Amanda admits to being competitive and having her eye on the Glitterball trophy, she is tipping her old co-star, Bad Education's Layton, for the top spot in this year's BBC series.

Former Love Island star Zara McDermott has shared some behind-the-scenes details from Strictly Come Dancing - admitting the WhatsApp group chat is "popping". Speaking to OK! and other press, Zara, 26, revealed the celebrity contestants have been growing close ahead of the show's launch date. "It's popping every day," she said.

The launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2023 is just around the corner, with the new series set to begin on Saturday 16 September on BBC One. A new set of 15 celebrities are gearing up to take to the dance floor on the hit show, with the likes of EastEnders' Bobby Brazier, Les Dennis, Angela Scanlon and Adam Thomas among the famous faces taking part. With preparations for the new series already well underway, this year's Strictly stars have started to feel the pressure, with many taking to social media to say how tough the strict dance training regime has been.

Layton Williams has said farewell to his BBC role as he prepares to make his debut on Strictly Come Dancing. The 28-year old actor has signed up to star in the 21st series of the popular dance contest in a bid to take home the Glitterball trophy.

When Angela Scanlon was making her New Year’s resolutions, she decided 2023 would be the year of “yes” and wrote “surprise me” in her diary. So when she was asked to sign up to the 21st series of Strictly Come Dancing she decided to go for it. “I went into this year with the mentality of whatever is chucked at me, I’ll say yes,” she says.