SH0CK: Strictly Come Dancing announces Graeme “The Dogfather’ Hall as 11th contestant
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Strictly Come Dancing will be hitting TV screens again this autumn, with a host of celebs – but some fans have already expressed their disappointment at the line-up
Strictly Come Dancing is returning to screens very soon but some fans aren’t happy with the line-up of celebs hoping to lift the glitterball.
Alongside the usual soap stars, TV presenters, singers and sports stars, Strictly has announced some celebs from jobs that have been featured less frequently on the show. There are two Love Island winners taking part this year – Dani Dyer and Cach Mercer. The dance show first started featuring stars from the reality dating series in 2023, but has featured one from the show every year since. This is the first year it has featured two.
Chris Appleton, a celebrity hairstylist, has also been added to the show, as has Graeme ‘The Dogfather’ Hall, a dog expert who occasionally appears on This Morning to provide advice and has had few of his own TV shows over the years.
As the line-up is slowly announced, fans have shared their feelings about the celebs taking part this year. Following Graeme’s announcement on 5 August, many asked who he was and one said the BBC were “scraping the bottom of the barrel”.
Another slammed the line-up as “boring”, saying: “Genuinely who even are half the people doing strictly this year, apart from like three people this is the most boring lineup ever”
A third said: “This has got to be one of weakest line ups”. Similar was said at the time of Chris Appleton’s announcement a fan joked: “Looking forward to Katie Price’s cleaner joining the line up”.
But others seemed excited by seeing people they didn’t know of join the show. One wrote online: “I only know 5 people so far this year but I’m sure I’ll love the others once they start getting their groove on.”
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Another said of Chris’ announcement: “Now THIS is a fun signing to Strictly!!” While a fourth said: “TBH I do not expect to know all those taking part. Sometimes a celeb you know nothing about can turn out to be an excellent contestant. Joe Sugg was a new name and face to me and he was brilliant.”
The latest celebrity for Strictly Come Dancing has been announced (CREDIT LINE:BBC/BBC Studios)
The entire cast has received the support of the celeb world too, drawing attention to the show from audiences they may not have seen it before. For instance, Chris’ signing had people such as Selling Sunset star Chrishell Stause commenting: “So exciting-you’re gonna kill it”, suggesting American audiences might be interested in watching the series to see him dance.
Likewise, Ray Winstone unsurprisingly commented on his daughter Jaime Winstone’s announcement saying: “Ray Winstone: At least you can dance better than your dad, good luck darling, enjoy yourself.” As such, he looks likely to turn up in the audience, adding some further star power to the show.
The full line-up includes: EastEnders’ Lacey Turner, Love Island stars Dani Dyer and Cach Mercer, singer Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Big Brother host Will Best, Paralympian Sarah Storey, Jaime Winstone, House of the Dragon’s Bethany Antonia, footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and ‘The Dogfather’ Graeme Hall.
