Debbie McGee, Jonnie Peacock and Alexandra Burke complete Strictly line-up

debbie mcgee

The BBC announced the final three celebrities who'll be taking part in this year's dance contest

Debbie McGee, Jonnie Peacock and Alexandra Burke have completed the line-up of Strictly Come Dancing.

The trio appeared alongside presenters Alex Jones and Matt Baker on The One Show to announce that they had signed up for the BBC programme.

Debbie, 58, who was unveiled first, said she was a big fan of the show and had loved it when her late husband Paul Daniels was a contestant.

“I had always loved the programme and wanted to do it. When Paul got it I was really jealous!” she said.

 

Jonnie, a double Paralympic, World and European T44 100m Champion, is a below the knee amputee and said he hoped to 'change a bit of the stigma'.

“I think this is the first time there has been a disabled person on the main show, so that’s going to be really good I think,” said the 24-year-old.

“A dancer came to check out my movement patterns on the leg to see what would perhaps be a restriction and I think she quickly realised it was me that was a restriction and not the leg.”

 

Former X Factor winner Alexandra Burke, 28, was announced third and said it was a 'massive dream come true'.

However she admitted she was a little daunted about getting on the dancefloor.

“I’m a singer, I’m not a dancer at all,” she said, saying it would be “a challenge”.

 

After the three hopefuls were revealed, they were shown a message from former Strictly judge Len Goodman.

He told the trio: “Oy, you three! Good luck. I am sure you are going to get out there shaking and baking.

“The only sadness is you won’t be getting a 10 from Len!”

The final three contestants complete a line-up of 15 celebrity dancers including entertainer Brian Conley, The Saturdays’ Mollie King, former JLS singer Aston Merrygold, former Holby City favourite Chizzy Akudolu and This Morning’s Ruth Langsford.

Also hoping to samba to success are Sunday Brunch presenter Simon Rimmer, former Emmerdale star Gemma Atkinson, Reverend Richard Coles, Holby City’s Joe McFadden, EastEnders star Davood Ghadami, comic Susan Calman and Good Morning Britain host Charlotte Hawkins.

Patrick McLennan

Patrick McLennan is a London-based journalist and documentary maker who has worked as a writer, sub-editor, digital editor and TV producer in the UK and New Zealand. His CV includes spells as a news producer at the BBC and TVNZ, as well as web editor for Time Inc UK. He has produced TV news and entertainment features on personalities as diverse as Nick Cave, Tom Hardy, Clive James, Jodie Marsh and Kevin Bacon and he co-produced and directed The Ponds, which has screened in UK cinemas, BBC Four and is currently available on Netflix. 

An entertainment writer with a diverse taste in TV and film, he lists Seinfeld, The Sopranos, The Chase, The Thick of It and Detectorists among his favourite shows, but steers well clear of most sci-fi.