Reality stars join Strictly Come Dancing line-up

Reality stars Pete Wicks and Tasha Ghouri are the latest celebrities to be announced for the upcoming series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Details of the 2024 contestants have been confirmed each day this week, with Go Compare singer Wynne Evans, singer and actress Toyah Willcox, TV doctor Punam Krishan, comedian Chris McCausland and JLS star JB Gill already confirmed.

The new announcements come amid the scandal currently facing the hit BBC series, with an investigation into allegations of abusive behaviour behind the scenes taking place.

Wicks, who rose to fame on The Only Way Is Essex, was congratulated by his friend and 2023 Strictly contestant Zara McDermott – one of the celebrities who has made allegations about her time on the show.

However, she said she had “never been so excited” as she shared his news on social media.

Wicks and Ghouri were revealed on the Kiss FM breakfast show, with Wicks saying he was feeling “a mixture of excited and absolutely petrified, genuinely petrified”.

Discussing his biggest fear about taking part, he said: “The thing people are most nervous about is falling flat on your face so it’s probably that.

“There is a lot of stairs, it’s not even the dancing, people run up the stairs to talk to Tess [Daly] and Claudia [Winkleman] and I will probably just slide back down.”

Ghouri, who was born deaf and uses a cochlear implant, found fame on Love Island in 2022, when she met boyfriend Andrew Le Page.

According to press reports, she also previously dated former Strictly dancer Giovanni Pernice, one of the stars embroiled in the scandal. He left the show earlier this year and has denied allegations of any “abusive or threatening behaviour”.

Following her time on Love Island, Ghouri has become a campaigner for the deaf community and worked with Downing Street and the Department for Education.

Asked on the radio show which professional partner she would like to be paired with on Strictly, she said: “I do have a dream of who I would love to be with, I’ve not even met them yet. It would be Jojo (Johannes Radebe), I would love to work with him.”

Ghouri is a trained dancer but said Strictly would be a new experience.

“I’ve not danced in quite a few years now, since Love Island my career has changed so much,” she said. “I might not be good at it, like ballet, I’m not good at ballet, I’m trained in commercial, so I’m excited to learn these new styles.”

Ghouri follows in the footsteps of the show’s first deaf contestant Rose Ayling-Ellis, who won Strictly’s coveted glitterball trophy when partnered with Pernice in 2021.

McCausland, who was the first celebrity announced for this year, is the show’s first blind contestant.

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Who else is expected?

More celebrities are expected to be announced in the coming days.

Other stars who will reportedly join the line-up include DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles, former Arsenal footballer Paul Merson, EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick, X Factor winner Shayne Ward and Olympian Sam Quek.

Gladiators star Montell Douglas, better known as Fire, and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland have also signed up, according to The Sun.

Unofficially, Olympic swimmer Tom Dean has also let slip that he will be taking to the dance floor.

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Following the controversy over the alleged mistreatment of contestants on the show, the BBC has announced new methods to “strengthen welfare and support” for the upcoming series, including adding chaperones to be present during training room rehearsals “at all times”.

The results of its investigation launched in the wake of the allegations have not yet been published.

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