Dance fans in Zimbabwe are gearing up for the 17th series of British reality show Strictly Come Dancing, which launches on DStv on Sunday September 29.Liz Dziva, publicity and public relations manager of MultiChoice Zimbabwe, said the series would again feature a line-up of celebrities being coached by professional dancers, all with their eye on the Strictly trophy for the overall winner.
“It is an exciting show and is very popular among audiences in Zimbabwe, so we are pleased that once again our broadcasts here are only two weeks behind the UK premiere screenings, with a 7pm Sunday time slot on BBC Brit( DStv channel 120)” she said.
| Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman return to present the main show and the results show, which in the DStv schedule screen back-to-back. Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and Bruno Tonioli return to the judging panel, but, after seven years as a judge, Darcey Bussell will not be returning to the series and her replacement is South Africa-born Motsi Mabuse, elder sister of Strictly professional dancer Oti Mabuse.
There are also changes in the ranks of the professional dancers. Pasha Kovalev has quit the show after eight years as a professional dancer, while Nancy Xu is joining the cast of professionals. Gorka Márquez and Graziano Di Prima will this year not have celebrity partners and, instead, the three professionals who did not have celebrity partners in series 16 will all be given celebrities for the first time: Neil Jones, Johannes Radebe, and Luba Mushtuk. |
The pairings of celebrities and professional dancers this year are: veteran broadcaster Anneka Rice and Kevin Clifton; former England Lionesses’ football captain Alex Scott and Neil Jones; soapie actress Catherine Tyldesley and Johannes Radebe; comedian Chris Ramsey and Karen Hauer; BBC Radio 1 presenter Dev Griffin and Dianne Buswell; former England goalkeeper David James and Nadiya Bychkova; EastEnders soapie actress Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke; Viscountess Emma Weymouth and Aljaz Skorjanec; Olypian gold medalist rower James Cracknell and Luba Mushtuk; soapie actor Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse; CBBC children’s presenter Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden; RuPaul judge Michelle Visage and Giovanni Pernice; BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell and Katya Jones; social media star Saffron Barker and AJ Pritchard; and Paralympian Will Bayley and Janette Manrara.