Strictly line-up confirmed

The wait is over! The BBC today confirmed the line-up for the new series of Strictly Come Dancing.

To be honest, there aren't a lot of surprises as most of the names had already been linked to the series over the past few months. In fact, the only big surprises were that Fern Britton and La Toya Jackson are not taking part, despite speculation that they would be competing. So, who is taking part then?

From soapland we have former EastEnders' actress Natalie Cassidy, who will be dancing with Vincent Simone and fellow EastEnder Ricky Groves, whose partner is Erin Boag. Coronation Street is represented by Craig Kelly (dancing with Flavia Cacace) and Hollyoaks' Ricky Whittle will be taking part alongside professional dancer Natalie Lowe.

Footballers' Wives' actresses Zoe Lucker (dancing with James Jordan) and Laila Rouass (dancing with Anton Du Beke) will be reunited on the show, and the showbiz line-up is completed by actress and presenter Lynda Bellingham (dancing with Darren Bennett) and The Bill's Ali Bastian, who is dancing with Brian Fortuna.

The sporting world is represented by former women's world number one tennis player Martina Hingis, who is dancing with Matthew Cutler, and Olympic athlete Jade Johnston, who is dancing with Ian Waite. They are joined by horse racing legend Richard Dunwoody (dancing with Lilia Kopylova) and boxing world champion Joe Calzaghe (dancing with Kristina Rihanoff). I'm A Celebrity winner and former cricketer Phil Tufnell, who is dancing with Katya Virshilas, completes the sporting line-up.

BBC presenters Chris Hollins (dancing with Ola Jordan) and Rav Wilding (dancing with Aliona Vilani) will also take part, alongside model and businesswoman Jo Wood, who is dancing with Brendan Cole.

In a big departure, this year's series will kick off on a Friday night and there will be editions on both Friday and Saturday for the first two weeks. There have also been changes to the voting system and how points are awarded in the event of a tie in judges' scores. This means - and we quote - 'should there be a tie any one couple can be saved from the dance off, and no one couple is safe'. Hopefully you understand that bit.

The show's presenter Bruce Forsyth took the opportunity at the press launch to hit back at claims that The X Factor had beaten Strictly last year in the ratings. The veteran entertainer handed out copies of the ratings data to back up his claim. Who was going to argue with that?

So, that's your lot. Now tell us what you think...

- More TV: What's on later? | The X Factor | Big Brother

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