A new professional dancer has joined the ranks at the Strictly Come Dancing set ahead of their next series.
Karen Hauer joins the celebrity reality dancing competition and joins the rest of the returning professionals for the upcoming season.
When last season ended, it was announced that Katya Virshilas would not be returning. 30 year-old Hauer, from Venezuela, has said "If I could dance how I feel about joining Strictly then you’d be able to see how excited I am!"
The dancer and former World Mambo Champion has recently toured the world with a dance show and has worked with Jennifer Lopez. Three years ago she auditioned for US reality series So You Think You Can Dance, but was eliminated after the first few weeks.
Notable professionals from previous series will return, including Brendan Cole, Artem Chigvintsev, Kristina Rihanoff, Ola Jordan and last year's winner Aliona Vilani, who won with Harry Judd.
BBC Controller of Entertainment Katie Taylor said: “We welcome Karen to our Strictly family – we’re thrilled to have such a fresh and talented professional join us and I can’t wait to see what she will bring to the ballroom this autumn.”
