Strictly Come Dancing fans have been given their first glimpse of the first live show, as the twelve couples’ songs and dances have been revealed.
And making history is Angela Rippon, 78, who becomes the show’s oldest ever contestant when she takes to the floor on Saturday.
The former newsreader will be performing a Cha Cha to Dame Shirley Bassey’s cover of Pink’s Get The Party Started with pro partner Kai Widdrington.
Meanwhile actor Layton Williams, who fans have already tipped to raise the glittery trophy, will show off his skills with a Samba.
Viewers of last week’s launch took to Twitter to predict the Bad Education star would make history by becoming the show’s first ever winning same-sex pairing alongside pro Nikita Kuzmin.
Dancing Queen: Angela Rippon, 78, will make history as she becomes the show’s oldest ever contestant with her cha cha, as the couples’ first songs and dances have been revealed (pictured with partner Kai Widdrington)
Skills: Meanwhile actor Layton Williams, who fans have already tipped to raise the glittery trophy, will show off his skills with a Samba (pictured with partner Nikita Kuzmin)
This was despite the series facing a ‘fix’ row after fans claimed the actor had an unfair advance following his West End appearances and Stage School training.
Angela’s song choice was a huge hit for Goldfinger songstress Dame Shirley, 86, who released the cover after first performing it on stage in 2007.
Meanwhile Layton and Nikita will dance to Little Mix’s catchy pop tune Touch.
Former Love Island star Zara McDermott will also perform a lively Cha Cha to 90s hit Crush by Jennifer Page.
She previously revealed rehearsals had left her ‘bleeding’ after partner Graziano Di Prima made her wear uncomfortable ‘men’s shoes’ to practice ahead of their first live perfomance.
Bobby Brazier and Diane Buswell are hoping to impress as they dance a classic Foxtrot to All About You by McFly.
Nigel Harman and Katya Jones will also be starting their Strictly journey in the ballroom, with a Paso Doble to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.
Meanwhile Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystał will be hitting the floor with a Quickstep to I’m On Top Of The World by Bobby Darin.
Dancing shoes: Former Love Island star Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima will also perform a lively Cha Cha to 90s hit Cush by Jennifer Page – after rehearsals left her feet ‘bleeding’
Fun: Bobby Brazier and Diane Buswell (L) will dance a classic Foxtrot to All About You by McFly while Nigel Harman and Katya Jones (R) will be starting their Strictly journey with a Paso Doble to Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana.
Lets go! Meanwhile Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystał will be hitting the floor with a Quickstep to I’m On Top Of The World by Bobby Darin
Glitz: Angela Scanlan and Carlos Gu will be dancing adding some spice to proceedings with a Tango to Prisoner by Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa
Routine: Amanda Abbington is set to led around the dance floor by Giovanni Pernice for a classic Viennese Waltz to Pointless by Lewis Capaldi
Angela Scanlan and Carlos Gu will be dancing adding some spice to proceedings with a Tango to Prisoner by Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa.
Amanda Abbington is set to led around the dance floor by Giovanni Pernice for a classic Viennese Waltz to Pointless by Lewis Capaldi.
Also dancing a Cha Cha are Krishnan Gutu-Murthy and Lauren Oakley to Boom Shack A Lack by Apache Indian and Annabel Croft while Johannes Radebe will performing their own to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl
Challenge: Also dancing a Cha Cha are Krishnan Gutu-Murthy and Lauren Oakley (L) to Boom Shack A Lack by Apache Indian and Annabel Croft while Johannes Radebe (R) will performing their own to Billy Joel’s Uptown Girl
Come on! They will be going head to head with former soap star Adam Thomas and his partner Luba Mushtuk who’s Cha Cha is set to Waffle House by the Jonas Brothers
Perfomance: Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez will take to the floor for a classic Waltz to Run To You by Whitney Houston
Shwotime! and Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer will speed things up with Quickstep to Two Hearts by Phil Collins
Strutting their stuff: Les Dennis and Nancy Xu (L) hope to impress with their Tango set to Human League’s Don’t You Want Me while Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola will dance a Jive to Can’t Tame Her by Zara Larsson (R)
They will be going head to head with former soap star Adam Thomas and his partner Luba Mushtuk who’s Cha Cha is set to Waffle House by the Jonas Brothers.
Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez will take to the floor for a classic Waltz to Run To You by Whitney Houston and Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer will speed things up with Quickstep to Two Hearts by Phil Collins.
Les Dennis and Nancy Xu hope to impress with their Tango set to Human League’s Don’t You Want Me while Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola will dance a Jive to Can’t Tame Her by Zara Larsson.
The new series of Strictly Come Dancing saw it’s ratings climb to it’s highest since 2021 as an average of 6.1M viewers tuned for it’s pre-recorded launch last week, according to overnight ratings.
This was a jump from last year which saw an average of 5.4M viewers watching the very first show after drawing in a whopping 7.9M in 2021.
Saturday’s launch saw the 15 celebs paired with their pro partners, attracting a peak of 6.7M viewers.
Last year’s first show drew an average of 5.4M ballroom fans, peaking at 5.6M.
The show also paid an emotional tribute to Amy Dowden after the dancer was forced to miss the series’ glitzy launch amid her cancer battle.
Hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly called her the show’s ‘Welsh Dragon’ as they dedicated the judges and professional dancers’ routine to her.
Caerphilly-born Amy, 33, was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier in May and began chemotherapy after doctors discovered another type of cancer in her body, meaning she was unable to be paired with a celebrity for the new series.
Ahead of the show-stopping routine Tess said: ‘We are of course, missing one of our professional dancers.
‘Our gorgeous Amy Dowden is unwell and she can’t be with us for the start of the series.’
She went on: ‘But she is our Welsh dragon and we know she will be back soon.’
Claudia then interjected as she said: ‘Amy from all your Strictly family we are sending all our love and we cannot wait to have you back on the dance floor.’
Tess added: ‘This [dance] is for you!’.
Viewers watching took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to comment on the moving performance and thoughtful shout out.
One wrote: ‘A lovely tribute to Amy Dowden I hope she gets better soon’.
‘Hope Amy Dowden gets better’ and ‘Some brilliant couples this series, group number was really good. Just so so happy to have the show back’.
Strictly Come Dancing 2023: Who are the couples?
Nigel Harman and Katya Jones
Bobby Brazier and Diane Buswell
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe
Zara McDermott and Graziano Di Prima
Amanda Abbington and Giovanni Pernice
Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington
Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley
Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu
Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola
Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk
Jody Cundy and Jowita Przystał
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin
Nikita Kanda and Gorka Marquez
Les Dennis and Nancy Xu
Eddie Kadi and Karen Hauer
