'Strictly Come Dancing' adds Katie McGlynn and Dan Walker to line-up

Strictly Come Dancing logo
Strictly Come Dancing has added some more names to the 2021 line up. (Image credit: BBC)

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 has revealed its sixth and seventh contestants, adding to its star-studded line-up of hopefuls wanting to lift that coveted glitterball trophy. 

The news was revealed on BBC Breakfast, where they announced that Hollyoaks and former Coronation Street star Katie McGlynn would be joining the 2021 competition.

Katie said: "I'm nervous to see what people are going to think, because I'm not a dancer. I've always admired dancers, they're incredible at what they do. I think secretly I've always wanted to be one."

She added: "It's been so hard keeping it a secret, but I can finally say that I'm getting ready to shake my shimmy and become part of the Strictly family!

"I'm really not a dancer, but I'm so excited to learn a new skill on this crazy journey and cannot wait to slip into some sequins along the way.

"Although I do get to have so much fun as an actress, a lot of my roles have involved quite serious and challenging storylines, so I'm fully ready to let my hair down and do something different, even if it is completely outside of my comfort zone.

In addition to this, there was another surprise, as BBC Breakfast's own Dan Walker announced he was joining the competition too.

However, he wasn't optimistic about his chances on the dancefloor, admitting: "I'm one of those people, I've danced at three weddings, two school discos. I'm enjoying the experience of actually being able to learn to dance, have a bit of fun... we'll see what happens.

"I'm not making any room on our shelves in our house for the Glitterball."

Fellow presenter Louise Minchin wasn't happy about the news being kept a secret from her, but Dan revealed that no one had known, and he'd only told his kids very recently. He revealed: "I've been busy with the Olympics, you know what it's like you've got to keep everything a big secret with this programme. I only told my kids last weekend… they are not very happy with me either!"

Katie and Dan will join Sara Davies, Rhys Stephenson, Tom Fletcher, Robert Webb, AJ Odudu and John Whaite in the competition, with more names to be confirmed soon...

Lucy Buglass
Senior Staff Writer

Lucy joined the WhatToWatch.com team in 2021, where she writes series guides for must-watch programmes, reviews and the latest TV news. Now she works for our sister site TechRadar in the same role. Originally from Northumberland, she graduated from Oxford Brookes University with a degree in Film Studies and moved to London to begin a career writing about entertainment.

She is a Rotten Tomatoes approved film critic and has a huge passion for cinema. She especially loves horror, thriller and anything crime-related. Her favourite TV programmes include Inside No 9, American Horror Story, Stranger Things and Black Mirror but she is also partial to a quiz show or a bit of Say Yes to the Dress