Strictly Come Dancing has started to announce the celebrities who will take part in its Christmas special this year.
Comedian Josh Widdicombe has been revealed as the first celebrity taking part in the Christmas competition.
The 41-year-old is best known for Channel 4 comedy panel show The Last Leg, where he appears alongside Adam Hills and Alex Brooker, and has fronted his own semi-autobiographical BBC Three show, Josh, as well as hosting the Dave panel show Hypothetical.
Monday’s Strictly: It Takes Two episode shared the news, telling fans the comedian will be paired with professional dancer Karen Hauer, who competed with former footballer Paul Merson on this year’s main series until he became the fourth celebrity to be eliminated.
Josh Widdicombe announced for Strictly Christmas special 2024
Widdicombe said: “I am utterly terrified this will end in humiliation and worried I’m going to be so bad I will ruin Christmas for the nation.
“Why have I done this?”
He co-hosts the podcast Parenting Hell with comedian Rob Beckett and you might also recognise him from comedy panel shows including Smart TV, QI, A League Of Their Own, Mel Giedroyc: Unforgivable and Have I Got News For You, as well as being a guest host on Pointless.
All the Strictly Come Dancing winners over the years
The competition will see six celebrities take part in the competition – these have yet to be announced.
Widdicombe previously won the first series of Taskmaster and the Champion of Champions special of the comedy show and now he’ll have his sights set on the Silver Star trophy.
Recommended reading:
- Strictly star Chris McCausland says there are 'low expectations' of disabled people
- Strictly Come Dancing's seventh celebrity eliminated revealed in shock exit
- BBC Strictly viewers all have the same thing to say about Pete Wicks dance
Regular Strictly judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas will decide the winner of the Christmas special along with votes from the studio audience.
Last year, EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick and professional dancer Nancy Xu lifted the Silver Star trophy.
Borthwick is currently competing in the main show with professional partner Michelle Tsiakkas, while Xu and her celebrity partner, The X Factor winner and singer Shayne Ward, left after losing the dance-off in Sunday’s results show.
The rest of the Christmas special line-up will be announced on Strictly: It Takes Two in due course, the BBC said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel