Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Returns With New Hosts and Free BBC iPlayer Stream
Strictly Come Dancing season 24 returns with new hosts and dancers, streaming free in the UK on BBC iPlayer.
The new hosting team is Emma Willis, Last Leg comedian Josh Widdicombe and former Strictly dancer Johannes Radebe. They take over after Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman left at the end of the 2025 series. The judges remain Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, head judge Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood.
The professional roster includes returning dancers and new faces Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita. The celebrity cast includes Dani Dyer, who withdrew before last year's competition because of injury, and influencer Cach Mercer. Other contestants named by TechRadar include Bethany Antonia, Jamie Wintstone, Lacey Turner, Lawrence Robb, Melanie Walters, Will Best, John Nellis, Graeme Hall, Chris Appleton, Delta Goodrem, Sarah Storey, Tabby Stoecker and Shaun Wright-Phillips.
TechRadar's guide contains conflicting premiere dates. It lists the premiere as Saturday, September 26, but also says Strictly 2026 premiered on BBC One on Saturday, September 19, with live shows starting this week. The full show airs on Saturdays, and the results and elimination show airs on Sundays beginning October 4. No couple is eliminated in the first week. Episodes go out around 6:15 p.m. BST, although start times can change because of other broadcasts. BBC iPlayer streams the show live and on demand.
The spin-off It Takes Two airs on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer at 6:30 p.m. Monday to Friday. Strictly: Lights Up streams exclusively on iPlayer immediately after the Sunday results show.
For viewers outside the UK, TechRadar says a VPN can change the IP address and allow access to geo-blocked services such as BBC iPlayer. The guide names NordVPN as its preferred VPN and says it can unlock BBC iPlayer. In the US and Canada, Strictly Come Dancing does not air; the US version, Dancing with the Stars, is available on Disney Plus. British viewers travelling in the US can use a VPN to reach their usual streaming services, according to the guide.