Kitty Chrisp and
Emily Bashforth
Published November 27, 2025 3:49pm
Updated November 27, 2025 3:49pm
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The full cast list of six celebrities and their partners has been confirmed (Picture: BBC)
Key Points
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- Strictly 2025 Christmas special features stars Brian McFadden, Scarlett Moffatt, and Nicholas Bailey
- Melanie Blatt from All Saints joins the line-up, alongside Gladiators athlete Jodie Ounsley and comedian Babatunde Aléshé
- The show is hosted by Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, marking their final Strictly appearance
While Strictly Come Dancing is in full swing, the Christmas special isn’t far away, and the full star-studded lineup has now been confirmed.
Westlife star Brian McFadden was the last addition, following a former I’m A Celebrity star and an EastEnders legend.
Yet another Gladiators athlete will be entering the ballroom for the festive special, while a Gogglebox personality-turned-I’m A Celebrity winner will also be competing for the coveted trophy.
One member of the girl group All Saints, Melanie Blatt, will also be showing off her dancing skills when the competition gets underway.
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The six couples will dance their hearts out to be in with a chance of becoming the Strictly Christmas Champion, under the watchful gaze of judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke.
It will be long-time hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s last hurrah on the show, after they announced they would be stepping away from the series earlier this year.
The Christmas special will be Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s last outing on the show (Picture: BBC Studios/Guy Levy)
The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day, but will be recorded ahead of time. Last year, drag queen Tayce and her pro partner Kai Widdrington were victorious.
Christmas contestants have also become known to sign up for the main series, such as Jamie Borthwick in 2024 and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in 2025, so perhaps these faces will reappear in the future.
Who’s in the Strictly 2025 Christmas special? Here are all of the confirmed names.
Brian McFadden
The Westlife star is the sixth celebrity confirmed for the special. The boyband favourite will be dancing with Strictly pro Michelle Tsiakkas when the special hits screens this festive season.
Brian McFadden is the last celebrity contestant confirmed for the Strictly 2025 Christmas special (Picture: BBC)
The Irish singer-songwriter first rose to fame as a member of the boyband, and has since released solo music and toured as part of Boyzlife with Keith Duffy.
As part of the Strictly special announcement, Brian said: ‘I’m delighted to be a part of the Strictly Christmas special.
‘We are big fans of Strictly in our house, so to be dancing on Christmas Day on such a magical show will make it a Christmas to remember.’
Babatunde Aléshé
As the fifth celebrity to be added to the line-up, Babatunde will be paired with Strictly pro Nancy Xu when he enters the Christmas ballroom this December.
Comedian Babatunde Aléshé was on I’m A Celebrity three years ago (Picture: BBC)
Viewers will recognise Babatunde from Taskmaster, Celebrity Gogglebox (where he has shared the sofa with Mo Gilligan) and the 2022 run of I’m A Celebrity.
The 39-year-old lasted 18 days in the Australian jungle before he became the fifth campmate to be voted out of the ITV reality show.
Babatunde said of the announcement that he’ll be joining the Strictly ballroom: ‘I used to do a little dancing when I was in college.
‘I used to do Street Locking and Break Dancing, but then I found comedy and pursued that instead. At 39 I’ve accepted that a good two-step is all I need to get by at any function, but I know that won’t be enough for Strictly!
‘Let’s hope the old moves come back to me in time for Christmas.’
Nicholas Bailey
Nicholas Bailey, 54, will be the fourth famous face to conquer the dancefloor this Christmas.
Nicholas Bailey is the fourth celebrity to join the upcoming Strictly special (Picture: BBC)
Best known for playing Doctor Anthony Trueman on and off in the iconic BBC soap EastEnders for the past 25 years, he’ll be joined by pro-partner Luba Mushtuk in the ballroom.
You might also recognise him from Death in Paradise, Casualty, The Archers, Coronation Street, and Miranda, as well as his long-running presence on stage.
Reacting to his casting in the the festive special, the actor said: ‘I’m really excited to be doing this, almost as excited as my wife and daughters are! Hopefully I’ll do them, Albert Square and Luba proud. Bring on the dancefloor.’
Jodie Ounsley
Jodie Ounsley is the third contestant confirmed for this year’s Strictly Christmas special, although you might know her best as Fury.
Jodie Ounsley is best known as Fury on Gladiators (Picture: BBC)
The Gladiators star, 24, joined the BBC’s revival of the hit programme in 2024.
She’s also known for her interviewing work during Channel 4’s coverage of the Paralympic Games in Paris, and she played rugby union for Premier 15s side Exeter Chiefs Women as a winger.
She made history in 2019, becoming the first deaf female rugby player to play for a senior England side. Not only that, but she was the world’s very first deaf female rugby sevens international.
There’s no need to worry about her struggling with stamina in Strictly training, as she’s also a former British-Brazilian jiu-jitsu champ.
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Previous Page Next PageSpeaking on It Takes Two about signing up for the Christmas episode, Jodie told viewers: ‘If you’ve seen me as a Gladiator or as a rugby player, I’m serious, I’m powerful, I don’t mess around, but with this, I really just want to be able to let go and just have fun with it.’
It’s been confirmed that she will be dancing with professional Neil Jones.
‘I’m chuffed, because obviously he’s an amazing dancer, but he just gets into character, and I think that’s exactly what I need, just us together, hopefully I’ll be flying,’ said Jodie.
Melanie Blatt
Melanie Blatt was the second star to be announced for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
Melanie Blatt has been confirmed as a Strictly festive star (Picture: BBC/Sarah Doran)
As part of the 90s band All Saints – alongside original members Shaznay Lewis and Simone Rainford – Melanie had five UK number one hit singles and won two Brit awards, selling over 10million albums worldwide.
In recent years, she’s pivoted to cooking, as Melanie founded a gourmet burger business and appeared as a Celebrity MasterChef finalist.
She was also in the second series of Celebrity Race Across the World and starred in Taskmaster’s New Year Treat.
On joining Strictly this Christmas, Melanie said: ‘If you can’t have a dance at Christmas, when can you?!’
Melanie will be paired with Kai Widdrington, whose first Strictly partner was AJ Odudu in 2021. He’s since been partnered with Angela Rippon and, this series, was recently eliminated with Vicky Pattison.
‘I’m so excited to meet Kai and start training to make this a dance to remember,’ Melanie shared.
Scarlett Moffatt
Former Saturday Night Takeaway presenter Scarlett Moffatt, 35, will be paired with Vito Coppola, who won Strictly’s main series in 2023 with Ellie Leach.
Former Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt was the first star to be confirmed (Picture: BBC)
She revealed the news during a live It Takes Two episode on BBC Two, appearing as a guest on the Friday panel.
Scarlett said of her casting: ‘Strictly has always held a special place in my heart, so being part of the Christmas special feels truly magical.
‘It’s the show that brings everyone together around the TV, and being part of that is a genuine personal and career highlight.
‘I’m sure it’ll also introduce me to a few muscles I didn’t know I had. I can’t wait to live my best life on that dancefloor.’
The Geordie star captured the hearts of the nation during the 2016 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, which she won.
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Previous Page Next PagePresenting-wise, her work includes six series of the BBC Sounds podcast Scarlett Moffatt Wants to Believe, alongside Streetmate, the Channel 4 documentary Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates, and 30 episodes of the cookery show Love Bites.
You might have also seen her on TV alongside Ant and Dec for I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp, on the panel show Celebability, or on Crufts Extra.
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Speaking to host Janette Manrara on It Takes Two, Scarlett was bursting with excitement that the secret was finally out
‘I just keep crying all the time,’ she joked. ‘I can say it out loud! I’m so excited.’
She described the gig as a ‘dream’ and at the ‘top of [her] bucket list’, saying she feels that she and Vito are ‘the same person’.
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The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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