Strictly Come Dancing 2026 songs and dances revealed for first live show

Strictly Come Dancing has revealed the full list of songs and dances for the first live show of the 2026 series.

The 15 celebrity contestants and their professional partners will take to the ballroom on Saturday night, following last weekend’s launch show which revealed this year’s pairings.

Strictly Come Dancing returns for its first live show on Saturday at 6.15pm

Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire

Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington will perform a samba to Baiana by Barbatuques, while actress Jaime Winstone and reigning champion Carlos Gu will dance the tango to Donna Summer’s I Feel Love.

EastEnders star Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola will perform a cha cha to Whitney Houston’s How Will I Know.

Actress Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec will also take on a cha cha, dancing to Elton John and Kiki Dee’s Don’t Go Breaking My Heart.

Paralympic champion Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon will perform a quickstep to C’est Magnifique by Kay Starr, while Olympian Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita will tackle a jive to Animal by KATSEYE.

The opening show will begin with a group routine to an orchestral version of Raye’s Joy

Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire

Love Island winner Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby will perform a quickstep to Bruno Mars’ I Just Might.

Elsewhere, Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden will dance a tango to No Roots by Alice Merton, while Graeme Hall, known for Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly, and Lauren Oakley will perform a cha cha to the Smokey Joe’s Cafe version of Hound Dog.

Social media personality John Nellis and Katya Jones will take on a foxtrot to Alex Warren’s Ordinary, while Emmerdale star Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal will perform a paso doble to Harry Styles’ Aperture.

Former England footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr will dance a cha cha to Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell.

Reigning Strictly Come Dancing champion Karen Carney returned to the dance floor during the launch show last week

PA

It was also confirmed earlier this week that former Love Island winner Dani Dyer-Bowen will perform a samba with Nikita Kuzmin, while TV presenter Will Best and Dianne Buswell will also take on a samba, dancing to Robbie Williams’ Rock DJ.

The opening show will begin with the judges, professional dancers and presenters Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe performing a group routine to an orchestral version of Raye’s Joy.

Strictly 2026 contestants, songs and dances

• Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu – Quickstep to Stop This Flame by Celeste
• Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington – Samba to Baiana by Barbatuques
• Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu – Tango to I Feel Love by Donna Summer
• Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola – Cha cha to How Will I Know by Whitney Houston
• Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec – Cha cha to Don’t Go Breaking My Heart by Elton John and Kiki Dee
• Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon – Quickstep to C’est Magnifique by Kay Starr
• Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita – Jive to Animal by KATSEYE
• Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby – Quickstep to I Just Might by Bruno Mars
• Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden – Tango to No Roots by Alice Merton
• Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley – Cha cha to the Smokey Joe’s Cafe version of Hound Dog
• John Nellis and Katya Jones – Foxtrot to Ordinary by Alex Warren
• Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal – Paso doble to Aperture by Harry Styles
• Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr – Cha cha to Lil Boo Thang by Paul Russell
• Dani Dyer-Bowen and Nikita Kuzmin – Samba
• Will Best and Dianne Buswell – Samba to Rock DJ by Robbie Williams

Strictly Come Dancing contestants during the launch night

PA

The first live show follows a strong start for the new series, with a peak audience of 5.8 million tuning in for last Saturday’s launch.

According to BBC overnight figures, the launch attracted a peak audience 200,000 higher than last year’s opening show.

The 2026 series is the first to feature new presenting trio Willis, Radebe and Widdicombe, following Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman’s departure from the show last year.

Strictly Come Dancing returns for its first live show on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.