Overview
- The new presenting trio of Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe have taken over presenting duties and said they work with 'no egos', with Widdicombe calling the launch the "most brilliantly terrifying" thing he has done ahead of the first live show on Saturday.
- Producers opened the series with a pre-recorded, choreography-led launch that revealed all celebrity pairings and introduced five new professional dancers.
- Overnight viewing figures for the launch showed a peak of about 5.8 million and an average of about 5.3 million, a modest result that falls short of the programme's pre-controversy highs.
- The BBC has launched an iPlayer spin-off called Strictly: Lights Up, to be fronted by Abi Clarke and Tyler West and designed to deliver immediate post-show reaction and reach younger audiences.
- This weekend's live shows will be the key test of whether the presenting shake-up, format changes and new professionals can rebuild viewer momentum after earlier backstage controversies prompted tighter welfare measures.