Strictly Men, Strictly Women

Joe Calzaghe The 37-year-old boxer retired from the sport in February as Britain's only undefeated world champion in the ring, after 46 wins. He was BBC Sports Personality Of The Year in 2007, the first Welshman to win the title in more than 40 years. Reports have been flying around about a possible romantic connection between newly single Calzaghe and his dance partner Kristina Rihanoff. Sportsmen usually do well on the show so watch this space.

Richard Dunwoody The Belfast-born jockey was the National Hunt Champion three times in a glittering career that also included two Grand National wins. Injury forced him to retire in 1999 after clocking up almost 1,900 winners around the world, and since then he has undertaken a number of adventurous expeditions, including a 350-mile cross-country ski race to the North Pole. 45-year-old Dunwoody is dancing with the very popular Lilia Kopylova but bookies are classing this pair as outsiders in the competition.

Ricky Groves Groves starred as mechanic Garry Hobbs in EastEnders until very recently. Learning to dance for the show helped Groves fulfil an ambition held since he saw Saturday Night Fever and dreamed of being John Travolta. 41-year-old Groves is partnered with the highly competitive professional Erin Boag. For what it’s worth, his wife actress Hannah Waterman, says he has mad skills on the dance floor. We’ll see.

Chris Hollins The BBC Breakfast sport presenter played cricket for Oxford University, and is the only one of this year's contestants to have scored a first-class century. After a cold and shaky outing dancing on ice to the Scissor Sisters' I Don't Feel Like Dancing for Children In Need, Hollins said he was hoping for a more polished routine in Strictly. He is teamed with the gorgeous Ola Jordan. One of the lesser known celebrities he may struggle in the first week to find support with the public.

Craig Kelly The Coronation Street actor had a role in the blockbuster Titanic before making his name playing Vince in Russell T Davies' acclaimed drama ‘Queer As Folk’. Kelly said the only dancing he had ever done was after a few beers at a disco, and he even skipped the traditional first dance at his wedding. His partner Flavia Cacace took Matt di Angelo to the finals but can she do the same with 38-year-old Craig.

Phil Tufnell The former England and Middlesex spinner was known as "The Cat" during his cricketing career due to his ability to fall asleep anywhere. Since retiring from the game, he has brought his cheeky chappie style to a number of TV shows, including They Think It's All Over and A Question Of Sport, and won the 2003 series of I'm A Celebrity ... Get Me Out Of Here. He is partnered by new Strictly dancer Katya Virshilas. I wonder will he last the pace?

Ricky Whittle As a young man, Whittle had ambitions to be a footballer and was scouted by Arsenal and Celtic, until an injury ended his dreams of a career as a professional. After a stint modelling, Whittle joined Sky One's Dream Team, before moving to Hollyoaks on Channel 4 in 2006. Dancing with newcomer Natalie Lowe, Whittle can be voted the celeb who has managed to garner the most pre-show publicity. He has been everywhere and I fear I may be sick of him already. Apparently he's a good dancer though so I imagine he will be around for a bit.

Rav Wilding The former soldier has gone from Pc to presenter in recent years, leaving a career with the Metropolitan Police to join the BBC's Crimewatch show and report on crime for the One Show. Wilding, who took on Strictly as a challenge, is set to dance with Aliona Vilani. You can see him winning fans with the younger female audience!

Ali Bastian The actress who played Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks from 2001 to 2007 now stars in long-running cop drama The Bill. She prepared for the show by taking dance and aerobic classes at the gym and said she could not wait to wear the glitzy dresses. She is dancing with the popular American dancer Brian Fortuna.

Lynda Bellingham The former Oxo mum has become an established favourite on the lunchtime chat show Loose Women, and the Strictly judges will have to be careful: she is known for her straight talking and forthright opinions. Bellingham is partnered with Darren Bennett. Let’s hope she doesn’t suffer the fate of some of the other older female dancers who seem to find themselves voted out early on.

Natalie Cassidy The former EastEnders actress has grown up in the public eye, appearing as Sonia Fowler in Albert Square for 14 years from 1993 to 2007. Cassidy said she is a huge Strictly fan and has made no secret of her ambition to win the show. She is dancing with Vincent Simone who is likely to be a tough task-master. The actress has battled with her weight in recent years and is on record as saying she is hoping the show will see her slim down. I would like to see her do well.

Martina Hingis The Swiss tennis player burst onto the world stage as a teenager, winning Wimbledon at just 16 and going on to collect a total of five grand slam titles. Hingis expects to cope well with dance training and said she was excited by the prospect of wearing pretty costumes. Dancing with the ever-popular Matthew Cutler, it will be interesting to see how she fares. If she has rhythm then she could be a contender.

Jade Johnson The long-jumper has won European Championships silver medals twice each and hopes to represent Britain at the 2012 Olympics. The athlete will dance with professional Ian Waite and the couple are considered one of the favourites to win the show.

Zoe Lucker In Footballers' Wives, Lucker played the scheming Tanya Turner. Away from the sensational storylines of her screen persona, Lucker is engaged to film editor Jim Herbert and gave birth to a daughter last September. She is dancing with James Jordan.

Laila Rouass Another former Footballers' Wives star. More recently Rouass, who got her break as a teenager in the movie City Of Dreams, played geeky Egyptologist Sarah Page in ITV dinosaur drama Primeval. She is dancing with Anton du Beke so lets hope this year he is teamed with someone who has some rhythm. Surely he must be due a place in the final.

Jo Wood The estranged wife of Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood began her career as a model and spent many years touring with the band, looking after her husband's diet and diary. Wood is dancing with New Zealander Brendan Cole. According to newspaper reports there have been some tears already and the show hasn’t even started.

So gentlemen take your partners and let the competition commence!

Bree Treacy