Strictly to star Natalie Cassidy and Joe Calzaghe

Strictly to star Natalie Cassidy and Joe Calzaghe
Strictly to star Natalie Cassidy and Joe Calzaghe (Image credit: BBC)

Former EastEnders stars Natalie Cassidy and Ricky Groves are among those celebs taking part in series seven of Strictly Come Dancing. A number of sports stars, including boxer Joe Calzaghe, tennis ace Martina Hingis, athlete Jade Johnson, and jockey Richard Dunwoody are also lining up for the new series, which begins in September. The world of sport is also represented by ex-cricketer Phil Tufnell, a former winner of ITV1's I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here! And there is set to be a face-off between former Footballers' Wives, as two of the stars from the show, Zoe Lucker and Laila Rouass, take to the dancefloor. Also taking part are Crimewatch presenter Rav Wilding, BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins and Loose Women co-host Lynda Bellingham. The line-up is completed by Coronation Street star Craig Kelly, Hollyoaks actors Ricky Whittle, Bill star Ali Bastian, and Jo Wood, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood. The final line-up was confirmed on Tuesday morning. Show bosses have also announced some changes to the format. Once again the 16 couples will be divided into two groups for the first two programmes, but not into men and women as in previous series. The series will kick off with two weeks worth of shows on Friday and Saturday, then moving into the traditional Saturday slot. However the Sunday results show has been shelved, with the results being announced in an extended Saturday night show.

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.