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Strictly releases first group photo of this year's contestants

This year's 15 Strictly Come Dancing contestants
This year's 15 Strictly Come Dancing contestants

The BBC has released their first group photographs of this year's Strictly Come Dancing contestants, a week before the series kicks off.

The hit dancing series starts on Saturday 16 September on BBC One at 6.35pm, with its annual launch show, in which the pairings of celebrity contestants and professional dancers are revealed.

In the new photos, all 15 contestants don black and gold outfits, with plenty of sequins and fringing on display.

There is strong Irish interest in this year's line-up, with Irish presenter Angela Scanlon announced as one of the contestants.

Featuring in the photos, she is wearing a gold fringed mini dress and chunky gold heels.

Angela Scanlon (far left) pictured alongside some of her Strictly competitors

Also confirmed for this year's show are former Family Fortunes presenter Les Dennis, former tennis player Annabel Croft, British actor Nigel Harman, EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, Paralympian Jody Cundy, former Coronation Street star Ellie Leach and radio host Nikita Kanda.

Some of this year's Strictly cast

Also taking part are Waterloo Road actor Adam Thomas, broadcaster Angela Rippon, Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Love Island star Zara McDermott, actress Amanda Abbington, Bad Education's Layton Williams and comedian Eddie Kadi.

The series is now in its 21st season and is hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, with the judging line-up comprising Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse and Shirley Ballas.

A teaser trailer for the series was released on 2 September:

The Irish version of the show, Dancing with the Stars Ireland, will return to screens in January 2024, as confirmed by RTÉ in recent weeks as part of new season launch.

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