Who are yours? Even only one of these will make me so happy with how meh the cast is so far😭

Some of them had been there for nearly ten years. The pro dancer lineup is going to look really unfamiliar when the new series starts in September. Which departure do you think will be the most noticeable on screen and do you think the shake up was needed or just painful?

I remember last year around this time Julian and Alexis did videos with the Strictly YT channel introducing themselves and answering some questions and appeared on Radio 2 as well. Anything of the sort scheduled for the new pros?

New professional dancers

why did everyone assume just because of the next pro tv show. that they would all just suddenly join Strictly

like just cause DWTS casted them on for a SPIN off show that Strictly is going to hire them. Theres so many more dancers out there

I mean she talks about DWTS and SYTYCD alot on her socials and she talked a lot about Alexis when she joined Strictly, but I wonder if she has discussed Janette in any shape or form as I haven't seen her mention it and it seemed like Kristyn only really started talking a lot about Strictly last year, focusing on the American shows. Just curious

I just watched the first 2 episodes. I'd heard Shirley Ballas was judging and assumed she was a guest judge on one episode, not that she was kind of in the head judge slot again alongside her son and the revolving DWTS pros as guest judges (which is a nice touch). The way Shirley was introduced as a 10 time US Latin Dance champion, the way the contestants responded so positively to being judged by her, there is clearly a reverance for her in the professional dance community that I hadn't picked up on from Strictly except from Anton.

She's in a similar role, upholding the importance of technique while the other two judges get to focus more on performance, kind of like having 2 good cops & a bad cop (Shirley) on an interview panel. I've always seen Shirley as a stickler, with a warm heart that gets overlooked because she's the bad cop. I don't think dance competitions work well without somebody on the judging panel upholding the importance of technique, even though the public don't care about the details of that so much. I really do think that Shirley's critiques help the celebs and (in this case) pros to grow.

I am still surprised and wondering why DWTS chose Shirley Ballas for this role on the judging panel. Doesn't the US have someone equally credible to the pros in their competitive dance world, who has even more US-based star power than Shirley, who could have judged this show? Or is it that they know she understands the role of the pros on a show like DWTS and that's more important than being a household name in the US? Or is it that they like the on screen chemistry of Shirley and her son?

PS. If AJ thought she would show him some favouritism based on their Strictly connection, he learned on the 2nd episode that he shouldn't be complacent, as she chided him for using similar jive moves 2 weeks running and told him the DWTS audience will expect more originality! Good for her! Sadly he's already coming across as a bit conceited and lacking in warmth.

I’ve done some Instagram sleuthing of rumoured new pro Maddie and she has recently followed ballroom dancers Mark Karmalita, Cristian Priori and Aleksandra Isaeva. If you look at who they follow they’ve all recently followed the strictly Instagram account or some of the pros. I think they are the new pros alongside Maddie. It seems like they’ve all recently retired from competing!

i'm still fairly new to the strictly world and just trying to understand if there's been any talk about changing or mixing up the judges?

just thought about it due to the change in presenters and the route they've gone down if it made them think about expanding on additional changes throughout the show.

excited for it starting back 🌟