Strictly Come Dancing may be over for another year but there is still the festive special to get excited about

Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas special is on its way with the full famous line-up announced ahead of the ballroom’s winter wonderland transformation.

BBC fans couldn’t hold back the tears when blind comedian Chris McCausland won Strictly Come Dancing 2024 with his professional partner Dianne Buswell.

It was sad to say goodbye to the dance competition once again but there is still some Strictly magic to come with the Christmas episode jingling its way to our screens.

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special start time

Strictly Come Dancing’s Christmas special is airing on Christmas Day, Wednesday, December 25, at 3.55pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

The joyous spectacular will run for one hour and 15 minutes before Doctor Who airs, but who are the six celebrities taking on the dazzling challenge this year?

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special cast

Vogue Williams

Strictly Christmas special cast: Presenter, DJ and podcaster Vogue Williams. ( 
Image:
BBC)
Presenter, DJ and podcaster Vogue Williams is taking to the dancefloor this Christmas with her professional dance partner Carlos Gu.

She is often seen on ITV ’s Lorraine presenting the fashion and red carpet segments and is married to former Made In Chelsea star Spencer Matthews.

Vogue joked that Carlos would “have more of a chance of winning a Nobel prize” than turning her into a good dancer but that could change on the night.

Josh Widdicombe

Strictly Christmas special cast: Stand-up comedian and actor Josh Widdicombe. ( 
Image:
BBC)
Best known for starring on Channel 4 ’s The Last Leg as well as his own BBC comedy Josh, the stand-up comedian and actor has appeared on a variety of comedy and quiz panel shows like Have I Got News For You, QI and League Of Their Own.

Josh, 41, who has admitted to being “utterly terrified”, will be partnered with dancer Karen Hauer for the festive Strictly episode.

Tayce

Strictly Christmas special cast: Drag artist, model and presenter Tayce. ( 
Image:
BBC)
Tayce is to make Strictly history as the first ever drag queen to perform on the show.

The drag artist, model and presenter rose to fame as a contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race UK season two and declared the series’ runner-up.

Since then, she has modelled for Jean Paul Gaultier, presented on MTV, Sky and BBC Radio One and launched her own rap single Swagzilla.

Partnered up with Kai Widdrington, she said: “I cannot wait to sleigh on the Strictly Ballroom floor. My partner and I are going to dance for our lives!”

Tamzin Outhwaite

Strictly Christmas special cast: Former EastEnders actress Tamzin Outhwaite. ( 
Image:
BBC)Actress Tamzin Outhwaite is best known for portraying Mel Owen in EastEnders but has also starred as DCI Sasha Miller in BBC’s New Tricks.

Most recently, she featured in Channel 5’s mystery drama The Wives alongside Jo Joyner and Angela Griffin.

The 54-year-old star, who is “excited to swap the stage for the Strictly ballroom”, will be paired with dancer Nikita Kuzmin.

Billy Monger

Strictly Christmas special cast: Racing driver and presenter Billy Monger. ( 
Image:
BBC)
Partnered with Strictly professional Nadiya Bychkova, racing driver and presenter Billy Monger scored podiums in British Formula 3 and also won the Pau Grand Prix in European Formula 3.

Sadly, following a high-speed collision during Formula 4, Billy had to have both his legs amputated and continues to lobby for disabled and non-disabled drivers to race alongside one another.

He joked that dancing “in front of Craig Revel Horwood fills me with fear I’ve never experienced before”.

Harry Aikines-Aryeetey

Strictly Christmas special cast: Gladiator and Olympian Harry Aikines-Aryeetey. ( 
Image:
BBC)
Also known as Nitro, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey is a star of BBC’s reboot of Gladiators and recently appeared on Celebrity Masterchef.

The 36-year-old, who has been matched with Nancy Xu, is also a Team GB, Commonwealth and World gold medallist sprinter and was the first athlete to win gold medals at both the 100 and 200 metres at the World Youth Championships.

The Gladiator star was awarded the 2005 BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year when he was 17-years-old.

Talking about his Strictly debut, Harry said: “I’m swapping my trainers for dancing shoes, and trust me, I’m bringing the power, the energy and the moves!

“This December I’m gonna light up that dance floor and crank the Christmas spirit all the way up. Let’s do this!”