Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas mourns tragic loss with co-stars ahead of new series as she pays tribute to 'treasured loved one'

Strictly Come Dancing has made its much-anticipated return to screens to fill the Saturday night slot in the run up to Christmas. Fans of the BBC dance contest have now been introduced to each of the 15 celebrities who are in the running to take home the Glitterball trophy this year.

The glitz, the glam and the glorious - albeit sometimes questionable - dancing is officially back as Strictly Come Dancing finally returned to our TV screens. The new series of the BBC One dance contest began on Saturday night (September 16) with the launch show.

Series 21 of S trictly Come Dancing is now in full swing after the launch show kicked off on BBC tonight (Sept 16). The first show of the series saw all 15 celebrities make their debut on the dancefloor together for the first time, as viewers finally found out which stars would be paired with which Strictly professionals.

Fifteen hopeful celebrities will be dancing it out to become the latest Strictly Come Dancing champion this autumn. The popular BBC One dance contest is back with its launch show on Saturday, September 16.

Fifteen hopeful celebrities have already been hard at work in training and will soon be dancing to millions on primetime Saturday night TV in a bid to become the latest Strictly Come Dancing champion. The popular BBC One dance contest is back with its launch show on Saturday, September 16.

It's the night that Strictly Come Dancing fans have been waiting all year for as the launch show for the 21st series airs tonight (September 16). The much-loved BBC dance contest will return to screens with a brand new batch of celebrities set to take to the dancefloor for the first time.

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 is about to kick off its’ unbelievable 21st series tonight, as the latest batch of celebs get ready to battle it out on the dancefloor. Over its’ staggering two-decade run, the show has seen more than 300 stars put on their dancing shoes in the hopes of impressing the notoriously hard to please judging panel.The current judging panel is made up of former pro dancer Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and head judge Shirley Ballas.

Shirley Ballas has revealed she made the 'first move' in her relationship with boyfriend Danny Taylor, after meeting the actor back in 2019. The Strictly Come Dancing head judge, 63, first crossed paths with Danny, 50, when they were both starring in a Christmas pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk and it wasn't long until romance blossomed between the pair. And it was all thanks to a small but kind gesture by Shirley - who charmed her co-star with food, explaining: "I’d bring him lemon drinks with honey and I’d make him little sandwiches." Shirley, who was previously married to ballroom dancer Corky Ballas, was instantly attracted to her beau, branding him "drop-down-dead gorgeous" in a new interview.

The wait is almost over as Strictly Come Dancing is back on our screens tonight.

We can't even mention Strictly Come Dancing without bursting into a chorus of 'Da-da-da-da-da-da-daah' and the show's earworm of a theme tune will officially be back in our lives from this Saturday night (September 16) right up until Christmas.

There's not much long to wait until Strictly Come Dancing officially launches its 2023 run and the BBC has offered fans a sneak peak at the launch show as the judges are set to go up "against each other".

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.

Former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach has revealed her connection to one of her new Strictly Come Dancing competitors goes back a long way. The actress is currently hard at work in training for the BBC One dance contest after signing up for the 2023 run.

EastEnders star Bobby Brazier is gearing up for his Strictly Come Dancing debut - but before he's even seen in the ballroom for the first time, the actor had a startling admission. Bobby is among the 15 celebrities who have signed up to the 2023 run of the BBC One dance contest.

Anton Du Beke has called for an end Strictly Come Dancing spoilers after fans were left fuming - as they started before the new series has even begun. The much-anticipated 21st run of the BBC One dance contest launches next Saturday (September 16).

The star-studded Strictly Come Dancing 2023 line-up has been unveiled in a gripping first-look trailer. While fans of the BBC show had already been privy to the celebrities they can expect to see compete this year, it's the first time the professionals joining have been confirmed.

As excitement mounts for the return of Strictly Come Dancing later this month, BBC bosses have taken things up a notch with the release of the show's incredible preview trailer.The trailer, to be seen on TV for the first time tonight, Saturday, 2 September, sees the show's professional dancers performing an amazing routine, filmed at Tate Britain in London. OK! can also reveal the video here, ahead of its first TV screening. The dazzling professional dancers already revealed for the upcoming series are: Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Vito Coppola, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Lauren Oakley, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Michelle Tsiakkas, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.

With Strictly Come Dancing set to return to our screens in a matter of weeks, fans will be able to get their first look at this year’s jaw dropping professionals when The Launch trailer drops ahead of the new series. The highly anticipated trailer will be aired on BBC One this Saturday night (2 September) and will see our favourite professional dancers perform a stunning routine which will open the launch show with a glitter filled bang later this month.