Strictly Come Dancing dancers' birthday snaps spark one-word response from judge

There are many important aspects of Strictly Come Dancing that make the fan-favourite BBC series what it is. Each week, viewers watch celebrities and their professional partners take to the ballroom’s floor to compete for the Glitterball trophy, dancing to some of the biggest hits. But who exactly are the members of the Strictly band as the programme returns with the 2023 lineup? Dave Arch Dave is the head of the show’s band and has the title of Musical Director.

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.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have praised Craig Revel-Horwood for this "honest" scoring and critiques following the first live show of the 2023 series, which aired on Saturday 23 September. Craig, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke are back on the judging panel for another year of Strictly.The celebrity line-up includes the likes of Adam Thomas, Bobby Brazier, Ellie Leach and Angela Scanlon. The judges' scores during Saturday's show appeared to divide viewers, with many surprisingly supporting Craig, who is regularly criticised for his harsh comments and low scores.

The first night of Strictly Come Dancing kicks off on Saturday 23 September, but not all of the pro-dancers are feeling the heat of the competition, after they weren’t chosen to have celebrity partners. Stars Nadiya Bychkova and Neil Jones weren’t picked to dance with the celebs this year.

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.

It seems that the magic of the dance floor on the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing extends beyond the glitz and glamour, as several couples who met on the show have ended up starting families together. These heartwarming stories show that the connections formed on the Strictly Come Dancing stage can lead to beautiful and lasting partnerships beyond the dance floor. Let's take a look at all the Strictly bundles of joy that have come from the show.

While Jody Cundy, CBE, has certainly made a name for himself in the world of sports as a decorated Paralympian, he's also found luck in matters of the heart. Here's everything you need to know about the sports star and his fiancée, Lucy Bowles. Born on October 14, 1978, in England, Jody Cundy is a versatile athlete who has excelled in both swimming and cycling.

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.

Hamza Yassin penned a sweet tribute to Strictly Come Dancing, and his dance partner Jowita Przystal, after he returned for one last dance during Saturday's launch show.The Countryfile presenter, 33, took home the coveted Glitterball trophy last series after being paired with dancing pro Jowita, 29, and returned to Salsa once more this weekend. Following his performance, Hamza took to Instagram, where he shared a snap of himself and Jowita training. He penned the caption: "Can you believe it’s been one year since we had our first dance and that tonight will be the last time we dance together.

Strictly Come Dancing fans have praised Tess Daly for her youthful look after she stunned in a sparkly jumpsuit for the launch show. The 54 year old looked incredible as she hosted the BBC show alongside Claudia Winkleman, with the pair announcing the pairings for the 2023 series of the show. For the special occasion, Tess wore the gold halter neck jumpsuit, which flattered her stunning figure.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The 2023 series of Strictly Come Dancing is just around the corner, with the new season scheduled to launch of BBC One on Saturday 16 September. A new set of celebrities are set to take to the iconic dance floor on the hit BBC One show, including Bobby Brazier, Les Dennis, Ellie Leach and Angela Scanlon. This year's pairings are yet to be revealed, with Strictly bosses being careful to keep them under wraps until the launch show.

Nikita Kanda is one of the stars set to join the latest celeb line-up of 2023's Strictly Come Dancing. But the star has already had a whirlwind life of fame since becoming a popular voice on radio and a TV presenter in her own right. She has a roster of TV and radio experience behind her which will stand her in good stead as she joins Love Island star Zara McDermott, TV's Angela Scanlon and many more celebs on the Strictly ballroom dancefloor this September.

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.

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.

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.

Strictly Come Dancing's Nigel Harman has quit his role on hospital soap Casualty after just one year.The 50-year-old actor, who plays Dr Max Cristie made the announcement – which is sure to be disappointing to some of his fans – over the weekend. Nigel said: “My time on Casualty is done for the time being. I’m on screen until February and there are no plans for me to come back at the moment.” It comes after it was revealed that Nigel is one of the celebrities to have signed up to appear on this Strictly, which starts later this month.The news was announced by Christine Lampard who was guest-presenting Lorraine Kelly's self-named show, Lorraine, and Nigel also made an appearance.