Catch the 17th season of ‘Strictly Come Dancing UK’

Before the Ndlovu Youth Choir made waves on America’s Got Talent, Johannes Radebe was flying the SA flag on Britain’s Strictly Come Dancing.

Get ready for all the oohs and ahs later this month because Strictly Come Dancing UK is waltzing back onto BBC Brit (DStv channel 120) for the 17th series from September 29 at 7pm.

The multi-award-winning entertainment show produced by the BBC Studios returns with more sparkle, glitz and glamour than ever.

To kick off the new season, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman hosted an exclusive UK premiere, rolling out the red carpet to welcome the celebrity class of 2019.

The stars of ‘Strictly Come Dancing UK’ 2019. Picture: Kieron McCarron / BBC

The pairings this year include:

• Veteran broadcaster Anneka Rice and Kevin Clifton
• Former England Lionesses’ football captain Alex Scott and Neil Jones
• Soapie actress Catherine Tyldesley and SA pro Johannes Radebe
• Comedian Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer
• BBC Radio 1 presenter Dev Griffin and Dianne Buswell
• Former England goalkeeper David James and Nadiya Bychkova
• EastEnders soapie actress Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke
• Viscountess Emma Weymouth and Aljaz Skorjanec
• Olympian gold medallist rower James Cracknell and Luba Mushtuk
• Soapie actor Kelvin Fletcher and SA pro Oti Mabuse
• CBBC children’s presenter Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden
• RuPaul judge Michelle Visage and Giovanni Pernice
• BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell and Katya Jones
• Social media star Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard
• Paralympian Will Bayley and Janette Manrara

Oti Mabuse and Johannes Radebe on ‘Strictly Come Dancing UK’. Picture: BBC

After SA dancer Johannes Radebe heard he had been paired with Catherine Tyldesley, the former Coronation Street soapie actress, who has described her current dance skills as similar to those of “Mr Bean”, said: “Catherine doesn’t have to worry at all. I will turn her into a princess on the dance floor. I’m very excited.”

The show’s fabulous judges Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas return to the panel and will be casting their expert judgment every week.

This year, they will be joined by new judge Motsi Mabuse, originally from Pretoria, who has been a judge on the German version of the show since 2011.

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