Overview
- The BBC confirmed Strictly Pro Dance Off will premiere on CBBC and BBC iPlayer on Saturday 19 September with first broadcasts airing live during CBBC’s Saturday Mash‑Up!
- Each seven‑minute episode places one lead professional in a virtual training room with two other pros to teach a short routine before two ‘pro students’ face off and are judged with Strictly score paddles
- Episode one will be led by Dianne Buswell with Kai Widdrington and Lauren Oakley teaching a Jive and staging the initial dance‑off
- The series features all returning Strictly professionals plus five new hires — Aleksandra Isaeva, Cristian Priori, Lethabo Monametsi, Maddie Ingoldsby and Mark Karmalita — following the decision not to re‑contract several long‑serving pros
- Producers position the CBBC short as an educational entry point for younger audiences that will feed viewers into the main show’s refreshed launch weekend, which includes a performance by new presenting trio Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe