Strictly Come Dancing 2026 confirms former England football star and Ian Wright's son Shaun Wright-Phillips for line-up

He is the 10th celebrity to be announced!

Shaun Wright-Phillips wearing a suit smiling ahead with his hands placed in front of him.

JMEnternational/Getty Images

Published: Thursday, 30 July 2026 at 12:28 pm

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Former England football star Shaun Wright-Phillips has joined the cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2026.

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The footballer, and son of footballing legend Ian Wright, has 36 caps for England across his professional career that also saw him play for Manchester City, Chelsea, Queens Park Rangers and the USA's New York Red Bulls and Phoenix Rising FC.

Now a football pundit and broadcaster, Wright-Phillips has worked with the likes of the BBC, Sky Sports, ITV and the Premier League.

In a statement, Wright-Phillips said: "Dancing is in my blood - but mainly at family events! Strictly is definitely outside my comfort zone, but I’m super excited to get started and really looking forward to the challenge!"

Wright-Phillips joins a long list of celebrities part of this year's line-up, including Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Dame Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone and Bethany Antonia.

Shaun Wright-Phillips in a close up image smiling ahead in front of a sparkly background.

Shaun Wright-Phillips. BBC

Now the 10th celebrity to be announced, we can expect five more announcements in the coming weeks to round out the Strictly Come Dancing 2026 cast.

This casting announcement comes just days after the BBC confirmed five new professional dancers will also be joining the series, following the exit of fan favourites including Gorka Marquez.
The series will be different from what fans are used to with major changes, following the exit of longtime hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and pro dancer Johannes Radebe have been announced to be stepping into their shoes, and will make their presenting debut together at the launch show!

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Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One and iPlayer later this year.

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Authors

Black and white cut-out portrait headshot of Katelyn Mensah, smiling against a lime green background.

Katelyn MensahSenior Entertainment Writer

Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.

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