Two new professional dancers are set to grace the dance floor when Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC screens this autumn, the broadcaster has announced.
Alexis Warr, hailing from the United States, and Julian Caillon, from Australia, will join the 18 returning professional dancers on the BBC One program.
Warr, a victor of the US dance competition So You Think You Can Dance in 2022, has previously appeared as a guest professional and as part of the dance ensemble on Dancing With The Stars, the American counterpart to Strictly.
Caillon brings experience from three seasons as a professional dancer on Australia’s Dancing With The Stars. A former personal trainer, he has also completed two triathlons this year.
“I’ve admired Strictly for years, so joining this incredible family is such an honour,” Warr stated.
Caillon added, “I’ve watched it for years, especially cheering on all the amazing dancers I know and work with who’ve been part of it.”
Warr and Caillon are scheduled to discuss their new roles on BBC Radio 2’s Breakfast Show on Monday morning.
The judging panel will remain consistent, with Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, and Shirley Ballas returning. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will continue as hosts. The celebrity lineup for the upcoming series will be unveiled later this year, according to the BBC.
The program, which has been a staple on television since 2004, has faced several controversies in the past year concerning the behavior of some professional dancers and celebrity participants.
Professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima departed from the show last year following allegations regarding their conduct towards their dance partners.
The BBC announced new welfare measures for Strictly last July, including chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, the addition of two welfare producers, and supplementary training for professional dancers, the production team, and crew.
In January, Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans, a celebrity dancer in last year’s series, made what he termed an “inappropriate and unacceptable” comment during the Strictly live tour launch. He subsequently took time off from his BBC Radio Wales daytime show, and the BBC announced in May that he would not be returning to it.
EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick was suspended by the BBC last month after The Sun reported that he used a slur against people with disabilities while backstage during Strictly rehearsals in November. Borthwick issued an apology, and the BBC characterized his language as “entirely unacceptable.”
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Jessica will join the Royal Ballet School’s programme, which trains talented young dancers.