Strictly Come Dancing 2009 - Meet the contestants
The nation's favourite dance extravaganza returns as Strictly Come Dancing is back for its sparkling seventh series on BBC One. After months of speculation, we can finally confirm this year's celebrity contestants...
> Buy the best of Strictly Come Dancing on DVD.
> Read about this year's professional dancers.
Ali Bastian
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Brian Fortuna)
Soap siren Ali is currently starring in Britain's longest-running police drama The Bill as PC Sally Armstrong, a policewoman passionate about policing, sometimes to the point of recklessness.
Ali previously appeared in Channel 4 teen drama Hollyoaks, playing the character of Becca Dean from 2001 to 2007. Becca's most controversial storyline in Hollyoaks saw her fired from her teaching job and sent to prison after having an affair with one of her students.
A fan of the show, Ali is most looking forward to the frocks: "I have watched Strictly Come Dancing for the last few years and have always wanted to take part. I know it's probably a girly cliché but I just can't wait to wear all the beautiful dresses; it'll be fantastic. The girly fantasy aside, it will of course be great to learn the new dances."
Lynda Bellingham
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Darren Bennett)
Warm, open, quick-witted and fun, Lynda is a critically-acclaimed and much treasured British actress. Her numerous acting credits include appearances in the cult classics Z Cars, The Sweeney and Doctor Who, alongside roles in All Creatures Great And Small, The Bill and Holby City. She is perhaps best known though for her role in the popular, long-running and multi-award winning adverts for Oxo, which made her the most recognised mum in Britain.
Today, Lynda is a firm fixture on daytime TV, appearing as an outspoken panellist on the ITV series, Loose Women. Having kept her involvement in the show a secret, Lynda is not sure she'll get a positive reaction from her family: "At the moment my sons have no idea that I'm involved. I think they'll be horrified when they discover what's going on! Embarrassing mum and all that. Oh well!"
Natalie Cassidy
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Vincent Simone)
Natalie Cassidy grew up in front of the nation portraying the endearing, trumpet-playing Sonia Fowler in EastEnders. An audience favourite, Natalie won acclaim and awards for portraying meaty and controversial storylines including realising she was pregnant only after going into labour, having her daughter adopted only to later abduct her, marrying twice, becoming a widow and conducting a lesbian affair with one of her fellow nursing students. Life in Walford was never quiet for Sonia!
She has since displayed versatility and achieved great success with theatrical roles alongside Prunella Scales and Diana Rigg, record breaking fitness DVDs, documentary making and character roles on TV.
Ambitious and determined, Natalie says: "I am going to win. I feel like I've won already! I'm going to give this show 250% and am in it to win it!"
Martina Hingis
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Matthew Cutler)
The Wimbledon-winning 'Swiss Miss' Martina Hingis was one of the most electrifying and successful female tennis players of modern times. Named after the tennis legend Martina Navratilova, she was always destined for greatness.
Known for her on-court finesse and off-court frankness, she spent more than 200 weeks as World No. 1 and won a staggering five Grand Slam singles titles. Alongside her Wimbledon triumph, she notched up three Australian wins and one US Open victory. Legions of fans also saw her victorious on the doubles circuit, winning nine Grand Slam women's doubles titles.
Martina thinks her sporting experience will stand her in good-stead for the show: "I should be good with the training as I am used to working very hard for many hours to perfect my sport. Discipline is very important when training for tennis competitions and I think this will be the same when preparing for the Saturday dance."
Jade Johnson
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Ian Waite)
Britain's belle of track and field, Olympic athlete Jade Johnson is a two-time Commonwealth Games and European Championship silver medallist.
Outspoken in nature, dance-mad Jade has always set herself high standards and hopes to proudly fly the flag for Britain when she takes part in London's Olympic Games in 2012. Before this she hopes that her Olympic training schedule will help her to leap ahead of the competition in this year's Strictly Come Dancing.
Jade says: "I once appeared as the mystery guest on A Question Of Sport and had to perform as Beyonce to the song Crazy In Love. It was an absolute nightmare, I told myself after that experience that I would never do anything that involved choreography in the future – I must be mad!"
Zoe Lucker
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is James Jordan)
As Footballers' Wives' sultry, scheming and sexy Tanya Turner, glamorous Zoe created TV's hardest anti-heroine and one of the most memorable female characters of the past decade. Her juicy and far-fetched storylines thrilled and appalled millions of viewers in equal measure and included tales of fake tanning, murder, adultery and baby swapping.
A big Strictly aficionado, Zoe is looking forward to the Latin dances and the sparkly costumes. She admits, though, she is not naturally at ease on the dance floor: "I can confirm that the past six years have not seen me dance once. Even at weddings and social events I'm the one who sticks around on the dinner table whilst all and sundry are up on the dance floor... I just find the whole thing excruciating. I'll have to get over that if I'm to make an impression on the show this year!"
Laila Rouass
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Anton Du Beke)
Actress Laila Rouass first came to the public's attention for portraying the Jimmy Choo-obsessed, serial schemer Amber Gates in the TV drama, Footballers' Wives. She went on to star in Primeval, playing a character far removed from the reprehensible Amber: Sarah Page, a geeky Egyptologist.
Laila's appearance in this year's Strictly sees her reunited with her fellow footballer's wife Zoe Lucker who played her arch-nemesis in the series.
Talking about her chances, Laila says: "I'd absolutely love to win but wouldn't want to say whether or not I can. Come back to me in the first week, I'll know then! Whatever happens and however far I go with this thing, I just want to enjoy the journey."
Jo Wood
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Brendan Cole)
The coolest grandmother in rock and roll, the radiant and effervescent Jo Wood was a major player in the rowdy Rolling Stones circus for three decades and yet survived unscathed to tell the tale. She has transcended her hedonistic past to become a glamorous green queen, with a hugely successful eco-empire to boot with her own organic beauty range.
Jo describes her mum as being Strictly's biggest fan and is most keen not to let her down her when she dances on the show.
Talking about her previous dance experience, Jo remembers: "I did once take part in a South American carnival, probably in Brazil. I was wearing the tiniest outfit and didn't quite know what to do. I asked the girl who was dancing on the next float just what I should do. She said 'Don't think, girl. Just move!', so I did! Off I went, twirling around and around. I did that for an hour or so and was so very tired afterwards. Boiling hot too. I looked like a tomato!"
Joe Calzaghe
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Kristina Rihanoff)
The Pride of Wales, Joe Calzaghe is one of the greatest boxers to have ever stepped into the ring. BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 2007, Joe is Britain's only undefeated boxing world champion and was the longest-reigning boxing world champion of the modern era, holding the WBO, WBA, WBC and IBF super-middleweight belts during his remarkable 16-year career.
The Italian Dragon's fierce determination in the ring now extends to the dance floor: he may have hung up his boxing gloves, but he's hoping to knock out the competition in this year's Strictly Come Dancing and add the glitter ball trophy to his collection!
Joe says: "For me personally, taking part in the show is about following a dream and learning to do something I've always wanted to do – even though I'll be starting out with two left feet! I'm as nervous as hell but I really hope that I can end up doing it well. I managed to stay undefeated in the ring but I have a feeling that this is going to be far harder."
Richard Dunwoody MBE
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Lilia Kopylova)
Richard Dunwoody is one of Britain's most successful jockeys. At the forefront of English National Hunt racing in the Eighties and the Nineties, he was victorious in the Big Three races – the Grand National, the Champion Hurdle and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
His distinguished career and dedication to promoting the sport he loves earned him an MBE in 1993. Remembered fondly by the racing public for his partnership with the hugely popular Desert Orchid, Richard was also revered by his fellow racers, who voted him the National Hunt Jockey of the Year five times. He was Champion Jockey between 1993 and 1995.
In becoming the first jockey to foxtrot across the Strictly dance floor, Richard hopes that, with the luck of the Irish, he will be galloping all the way to the final: "My hopes are to do my best and, to be honest, my biggest fear is that I don't do my best!"
Ricky Groves
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Erin Boag)
The charming and chirpy Ricky Groves is much loved for his portrayal of cheeky cockney Gary Hobbs in the nation's favourite soap EastEnders. During his time in Walford he has experienced marriages, engagements, divorces, affairs and paternity tests... Albert Square has been quite the emotional rollercoaster!
Feeling like "the cat that got the cream" having been asked to take part in the show, Ricky is fulfilling an ambition of learning to dance that began when he first saw Saturday Night Fever and dreamed of becoming John Travolta's character.
He's also up for making sure he looks the part too: "I'm looking forward to experimenting with all sorts of costumes as the weeks go on. I will possibly indulge myself with a tan or two but do warn me if I start turning into David Dickinson!"
Chris Hollins
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Ola Jordan)
The respected and trusted face of sport on BBC Breakfast, Chris Hollins is the man viewers turn to when wanting clarification on the latest Beckham rumour, an inside story from the England cricket camp or an exclusive interview with a Team GB Olympic winner.
Chris began his media career at Sky Sports in 1994, followed by spells at GMTV, Meridian and Five TV. Sport is part of Chris's DNA: his father, John Hollins MBE, played football for Chelsea, Arsenal, and England whilst his uncle David was a goalkeeper for Newcastle United and Wales.
While Chris is delighted about the prospect of learning to dance, there's one thing he's more excited about: "I'm looking forward to meeting my all time hero: Mr Bruce Forsyth! I've been an enormous fan of his since I was a little boy. The Generation Game was my favourite show ever and I can't believe I'll soon be on-stage with him! Playing golf with Bruce Forsyth? That would be my ultimate dream!"
Craig Kelly
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Flavia Cacace)
The star of some of British TV's most critically-acclaimed and best-loved shows, actor Craig Kelly is currently residing on Corrie, the nation's favourite Street, where as Luke Strong he has the Weatherfield ladies falling at his feet.
For over a decade, Mancunian Craig has been winning praise for his roles in multi-award-winning drama series from Queer As Folk, where he starred as the loveable Vince, to Hotel Babylon.
Craig says: "Last year I watched the series and said it was the only show like this I would appear on. And here I am! It looks like a lot of fun and like a huge adventurous challenge and I was a fan of the show for many years. My wife thought that it would be great for future moves on the dance floor!"
Phil Tufnell
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Katya Virshilas)
All-round cheeky chappy, Phil Tufnell is nothing short of an English cricketing legend. To some, he was the bad boy of English cricket; outspoken and anti-establishment. To most he was one of the finest spin-bowlers to have worn the three-lions shirt in recent years, playing in numerous test matches and one day internationals. His wise cracking, wide-boy image made him a folk hero to the travelling Barmy Army cricketing fans.
Retiring from professional cricket at the start of the 2003 season, Phil appeared in the second series of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out Of Here where the public fell for his cheeky manner and crowned him King of the Jungle. He now reports for BBC One's The One Show and is a team captain on the BBC quiz show A Question of Sport.
With no previous dance experience Phil says: "My wife Dawn isn't too impressed with my moves. She would give me five out of 10 and that's her being generous! It'll be interesting to see how much support she gives me this year. Cricketers always seem to do well on the show. I'll no doubt become known as the only cricketer who couldn't dance on Strictly!"
Ricky Whittle
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Natalie Lowe)
TV hunk and actor Ricky Whittle has set millions of teenage hearts racing with his role as Hollyoaks' good boy turned bad, Calvin.
Before he caught the acting bug, Ricky was on the path to football stardom. But, despite being scouted by both Arsenal and Celtic, an injury ended any hopes he had to pursue a professional career and so he began a four-year law degree. Whilst there he began modelling, securing some high-profile campaigns and, after a successful audition for a TV drama, he decided to forego his career in the courts for one on screen.
Hoping to look impressive on the Strictly dance floor, Ricky would love to receive a perfect 40 from the Strictly judges. Known for starring in many Hollyoaks' scenes in not much more than his underwear, Ricky isn't averse to using his best assets to get him through the competition.
He says: "I love all the sexy Latin stuff; the salsa, the rumba. I get flustered in suits, so if I'm in something else it would be better. To be honest if it gets me through to the final I'll dance in my thong!"
Rav Wilding
(Strictly Come Dancing partner is Aliona Vilani)
From PC to pin-up via BBC's Crimewatch, TV presenter Rav Wilding has gone from catching criminals to catching the eye of the ladies in one swift move.
Previously in the army, where his career was cut short by an injury, Rav applied to join the Metropolitan Police and was posted to Peckham, South London. In 2004 he was successful in auditioning for Crimewatch, which he continues to present today. Rav took a sabbatical from the police force in 2008 to concentrate on TV work and is now a regular reporter on crime issues for The One Show.
Excited about the challenge of Strictly, Rav also has some reservations: "I've got massive thighs and have already burst out of three suits. My thighs are 27-inches in circumference and I'm worried about a wardrobe malfunction on Strictly Come Dancing. I'm worried that if something rips on the dance floor the viewers might see a little more than they anticipated."
