topic Re: Strictly 2025 in Off-Topic

Strictly 2025

sheepdog — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 21:07:32 GMT

And how time flies! Time for the annual reveal of this years Strictly cast of celebs. Oh who am I kidding, let's just pick the anonymity out of the dustbin that is the BBC budget for a flagship show. So before the exciting questions of "Who is this" and "Que?" followed by "Weren't they on Eastenders a decade ago?" and the inevitable "Guess who's needs a career boost", we must mention the new and exciting changes.

First, in a very thoughtful and provoking group session in the BBC canteen, same old judges line-up and we'll get more of I, Claudia propped up by Tess Daley emerging from her yearly hibernation box who may sport another subtle cosmetic procedure. DAO is likely to return as Oasis are still on tour.

Though in rather more salacious news, there is a drug investigation by the BBC into two "Strictly stars". Which was submitted in March but hey, a new series of Strictly needs all exposure as possible so was announced a few days ago. Must disengage cynical mode....and two new dancers to join Neil Jones as backing dancers: Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon. Usual pro-dancers and yet we still have Katya Jones?

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey

First up, because the BBC really need Gladiators to be successful and everyone will be copy & pasting his name cos I ain't typing it. Former athlete and er, current Gladiator. Could do reasonably well but may find himself in the dance-off mid-series because someone has to.

Alex Kingston

Various roles over the years and this years older woman contestant so far. Could be fun or could be not.

Dani Dyer

Not Danny Dyer and just to remind you who she is, the BBC has kindly put up a photo with Danny Dyer. Famous for being Danny Dyer's daughter and being on Love Island but mainly being Danny Dyer's daughter as seen in the photo. Dubious EE link but we await to see if Danny Dyer will be announced as a contestant to remind everyone who the daughter of Danny Dyer is.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Legend. And my favourite so far to bring the entertainment. Possibly some decent footwork coming from a footballer but we'll see. Probably won't help him find a new club to manage though.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Mon, 11 Aug 2025 22:47:25 GMT

Hi @sheepdog

I thought I'd post these tomorrow morning. I mistakenly thought you would spend hours trying to get online here due to the VM/O2 new log in fiasco and would give up. 😂

Anyway, nice to hear from you and no doubt we'll be adding more 'celebs' over the next few days.

A bit late now so i'll leave it at that.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:59:33 GMT

To continue.....

Jimmy AA (AKA Nitro) in Gladiator world.

Did last years SCD Christmas Special. Now either I'm going senile or I missed the Festive Edition!!

Also, 'a multi gold medal Olympic sprinter'. Who knew?

Also won the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2005

Alex Kingston.

Apparently was 'begged' to do SCD by her good friend Sarah Hadland who appeared in the show last year (and shocked us all by being a damn good dancer who was never in the dance off and reached the final)

Alex has been in Doctor Who playing his wife. Also been in ER for 8 years.

Also written a few books ......and is 62.

Dani Dyer......

Nothing more to add to your precis above @sheepdog 😂

Going to be amusing seeing her Dad in the audience giving Craig the evil eye

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

My football knowledge is limited but even I had heard of this guy,

During his interview on the One Show last night he stated his daughters nagged him to do the show.

Apparently he is a legend of the football world.

ANNOUNCED THIS MORNING (TUES)

Balvinder Sopal

Currently starring in Eastenders (which I never watch) Started in the show in 2019

Prior to this, she had a guest appearance in Call The MIdwife. Has also appeared in Waterloo Road and Doctors.

To be continued.......😂

Re: Strictly 2025

sheepdog — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 19:53:12 GMT

@Cleoriff well the vmo2 random login experience is well, abysmal. My setup was ok then I had to do one for someone else how has reading issue - cue how many circles can we do to login. Third one, for my father, ended up working but only because he left it after going round in circles for an hour. Oh for the days when o2 forgot to renew their SSL certificate causing people to register on the forum to demand compensation...

Think we're having the mid-table of mediocrity announcements now which is far more polite than it should be...

George Clark

Contender number 6 is the now required youtube/tiktok/instagram youngster we never knew existed. Zero idea of him and a cat video channel check shows I'm still as clueless to what the point of his channel is. Wouldn't have minded if it was George Clarke from that C4 house program. Any bets on the Dani Dyer/George Clark "romance" happening?

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Tue, 12 Aug 2025 20:29:26 GMT

@sheepdog

George Clark (Known as Clarky to his followers...whoever they are!! 😂)

I've never heard of him. So another thumbs down from me!
I doubt George will have a romantic interest in Dani Dyer. He knows who her father is!!

As for the log in fiasco, you were probably lucky you left it so long.

Those of us who tried it the first morning were going round in circles for about 2 hours.

if interested, you can read about it HERE

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 07:21:31 GMT

La Voix is the 7th contestant.

Another one 'famous' for appearing in Ru Pauls Drag Race.

Never watched the show so have never heard of La Voix.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 07:33:18 GMT

Chris Robshaw is the 8th contestant.

Chris Robshaw is a former England rugby union player and captain. He first joined his childhood club, Harlequins RFC, straight out of school and became captain at 23 years old. He earned 66 caps for England and captained the national team 43 times, leading them to a Six Nations Grand Slam victory in 2016. At club level, he played 300 games for Harlequins RFC, guiding them through their most successful era and becoming the only player to win the Aviva Premiership Player of the Year Award twice.

I'm hoping for a miracle. Of the 8 contestants announced so far, I know 3 of them. Jimmy, Dani and Alex.

Hoping they are saving the best till last 😂

Johnny Depp is looking for work, so I live in hope!!

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 08:47:34 GMT

Ellie Goldstein is the 9th contestant.

Ellie is a trailblazing model, actor and influencer, who in 2023 made history as the first model with Down syndrome to grace the cover of British Vogue. Her modelling career has also seen Ellie appear on the covers of Glamour, Elle, Mission Mag and Euphoria magazines, and she has featured in huge campaigns for brands such as Gucci Beauty and Adidas. Two years ago Ellie partnered with Mattel to launch the first ever Barbie with Downs syndrome.

I have heard of Ellie (Thank Goodness!!)

Re: Strictly 2025

jonsie — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 11:14:07 GMT

Well I've heard of the footballer and the rugby player

The rest may as well have been picked up from the local park!

Re: Strictly 2025

RunrigForever — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 17:10:36 GMT

Thank you @sheepdog for the notification, and comments from @Cleoriff & @jonsie

I have heard of the footballer & the actor who played Dr Who's wife, but that's all so far.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:00:21 GMT

Announced Thursday 14th August.

THOMAS SKINNER is the 10th contestant

Thomas Skinner first hit TV screens on The Apprentice in 2019, becoming a breakout star of his series. Since leaving the boardroom, Thomas has appeared on TV shows including 8 Out of 10 Cats, The Wheel, Michael McIntyre’s Big Show, Good Morning Britain and Faking It, alongside a memorable and meme-worthy appearance on Celebrity Masterchef. Born and bred in Romford, Thomas is a self-confessed ‘grafter’ who has spent much of his life on market stalls and currently runs a number of small businesses, ranging from mattresses to a gym. His motivational-style social media videos, often featuring unconventional breakfasts, have become hugely popular, and in 2023 he released his debut book Graft – How to Smash Life.

Another 'celeb' I don't know!!!

TWO MORE CONTESTANTS TBA ON THIS MORNING LATER.

Re: Strictly 2025

jonsie — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 09:53:41 GMT

Call me cynical but I can only see one winner.....Ellie Goldstein

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 10:11:52 GMT

VICKY PATTISON is the 11th contestant to be announced.

Vicky Pattison is a TV presenter, (Starting her career in Geordie Shore. She's an author, podcast and radio host who won the nation’s heart after being crowned Queen of the Jungle on I'm A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2015. Since then, she’s remained a firm fixture on British screens, with presenting roles across MTV, ITV, Channel 5, Channel 4 and TLC.

Her critically acclaimed Channel 4 documentary Vicky Pattison: Alcohol, Dad and Me cemented her as a compelling and authentic voice in the conversation around alcohol addiction and mental health. Vicky has also been a Celebrity MasterChef finalist, appeared on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and featured in BBC’s Sport Relief: All Star Games and was seen raising money in BBC’s Arctic Challenge for Comic Relief last year.

I do know Vicky as I always watch I'm A Celeb. She was excellent on the show. Hard working and winning all her challenges.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 11:43:53 GMT

STEFAN DENNIS is the 12th contestant to be announced.

Stefan is an actor best known for playing Paul Robinson in Neighbours, the longest running drama series in Australian television history. He created the role for the first episode in 1985 and appeared in over 6,000 episodes during the 40 years that the show was on air. Prior to joining Neighbours, Stefan worked extensively on Australian television with roles on numerous shows such as Prisoner, The Henderson Kids, The Sullivans, Young Doctors and Sons and Daughters, to name a few.

He has also appeared in The Bill, Dream Team, River City and Casualty as well as starring in the West End musical Blood Brothers.

For all that, I've only ever known him as Paul Robinson from Neighbours. I watched the show for years!! 😂

SCD starts with 15 contestants so there are 3 more to be announced.

I expect that will happen tomorrow?!

Re: Strictly 2025

sheepdog — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 17:34:14 GMT

@jonsie wrote:
Call me cynical but I can only see one winner.....Ellie Goldstein

Well that's my title on this thread 😉

Seems my comments from yesterday disappeared which is probably this creaking old Macbook Air.

La Voix: Early exit, probably wants to dance with Johannes and stay in full make-up. That make-up session will last longer than the sum total of him appearing on Strictly.

Chris Robshaw: Nope. No idea but given his wiki page is rather empty I'd say he's probably not going to be involved in any scandal. But then again, pair with Katya....more likely to be Nadiya or Luba with Nancy possibly a good match.

Ellie Goldstein: Vaguely heard about her and the usual checks says she's not lacking in confidence. Whether she's good enough to get past the mid-series point is another matter. Nikita favourite to pair.

Thomas Skinner: A grafter eh? The BBC really are doing a graft on the celebs this series. Apparently another BBC reality show veteran that took his opportunity and yet another one I've never heard of.

Vicky Pattison: So well known for being on multiple reality shows? And another one I don't know so guess wait and see.

Stephan Dennis: Oh at last someone well known and a fan base to match. I'm actually surprised he's not been considered before! Probably go further than he should though. And of course you all probably all forgotten he did have a rather brief musical career. Here, in all its glory for you to enjoy:

Also available from ebay.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:15:28 GMT

@sheepdog

I did think it was really weird that you hadn't posted last night and wondered whether the VM/O2 sign in had got you the second time around 😂

I'm in agreement about La Voix. Obviously hoping for Johannes as he's so popular.

Stefan said when interviewed, that it will be good to play himself (without the Paul Robinson artificial leg) 😂

Re: Strictly 2025

RunrigForever — Thu, 14 Aug 2025 19:31:09 GMT

I don't know of the three celebs revealed today.

Hope tomorrow's three will be someone I know of.

Looking forward to the show, though.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:20:23 GMT

Friday 15th

Final three celebrities announced

ROSS KING is the 13th Celebrity.

Ross can be seen daily on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Lorraine as their Los Angeles Correspondent. He is a four-time News Emmy winner who has hosted more than 30 television series since his first radio broadcast at 15 and television debut at 17.

For US network television, Ross was a World Judge on CBS’ The World’s Best, hosted The Hollywood Christmas Parade, The Critics Choice Movie Awards Red Carpet and for six years was the Entertainment Anchor on Los Angeles’ KTLA, winning four News Emmys and a Golden Mic Award. Ross was awarded an MBE in 2018 for services to broadcasting, the arts and charity. Ross has also written three novels with Shari Low, The Rise, The Catch and The Fall, and has written for television comedy shows, stage plays and films.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:25:45 GMT

KAREN CARNEY is the 14th contestant.

Karen Carney is a former footballer who played for Chelsea, Arsenal, Birmingham City and England, and is now the lead female pundit for both men's and women's football, across TNT and ITV.

With 144 caps, Karen is England’s third most-capped player, competing at four World Cups, four European Championships and the London Olympics before retiring in 2019. Aside from her incredible playing and broadcast career, Karen has secured a name for herself as a trailblazer in the advancement of women in sport. In 2022 she began leading a landmark government review with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, into the ‘Future of Women’s Football’ in the UK.

Re: Strictly 2025

Cleoriff — Fri, 15 Aug 2025 10:48:44 GMT

KRISTIAN NAIRN is the 15th and final celebrity.

Kristian Nairn is an internationally renowned actor, DJ and creative force who has spent over two decades at the forefront of music and entertainment. Kristian is best known for his unforgettable portrayal of Hodor in HBO’s global phenomenon Game of Thrones, a role that earned him a devoted international following and created one of the most iconic and emotional moments in recent TV history. Kristian is also known to millions around the world for his role as Wee John Feeney in two series of the HBO comedy Our Flag Means Death.