Strictly Come Dancing’s 2020 professional dancers revealed after Kevin Clifton's departure
Most of the 2019 cast will be returning
BBC's Strictly Come Dancing has confirmed the 2020 cast of professional dancers, just weeks after fan-favourite Kevin Clifton announced he was leaving the BBC competition.
However the rest of the class of 2019 will be returning - including regulars Anton du Beke, AJ Pritchard and current champion Oti Mabuse.
The full line up for Strictly Come Dancing 2020 includes AJ Pritchard, Aljaž Škorjanec, Amy Dowden, Anton Du Beke, Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Gorka Marquez, Graziano Di Prima, Janette Manrara, Johannes Radebe, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Luba Mushtuk, Nadiya Bychkova, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, and Oti Mabuse.
Missing from the line-up is Oti Mabuse's husband Marius Lepure, who is reportedly joining the show as a troupe dancer only. Mabuse emerged victorious for the first time with Emmerdale star Kelvin Fletcher in the 2019 series, which also saw her sister Motsi Mabuse join the judging panel.
We don't know if anyone will be officially joining Strictly, following Kevin's departure.
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Kate Phillips, Controller of BBC Entertainment, says: “We are very proud of Strictly Come Dancing and our professional dancers. They are undoubtedly in a class of their own and they’ll be back in force this autumn to put our class of 2020 through their paces, providing another series of unmissable TV!”
It remains to be seen which celebrities the professionals will be partnered with - though some famous names are being rumoured already.
There are also calls for the show's first same-sex couple in 2020, following Dancing on Ice's pairing of Steps singer Ian ‘H’ Watkins and professional skater Matt Evers who came seventh in the skating competition.
Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One this autumn
