Love Island winner Dani Dyer has reunited with Nikita Kuzmin on Strictly Come Dancing, as the show’s pairings were revealed in an action-packed launch show.

Dyer was partnered with Kuzmin last year before she was forced to pull out due to injury.

This year’s line-up also features the third all-female pairing in its history, with Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu dancing together, following Nicola Adams and Katya Jones in 2020, and Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer in 2022.

After finding out she had been paired with Kuzmin, Dyer said she was just “just over the moon” and “so, so happy”.

Kuzmin added: “I had, like generally tears of joy when that happened, and just to hear everybody cheer, hear the audience sing. Dani’s so happy, I was honestly hoping this was going to happen, but you never know.”

After finding out she and Antonia would be the first all-female couple since 2022, Xu said she could not wait for the partnership and added she was “so happy”.

Antonia said: “I just feel so happy, we just like bonded instantly, like day one, we weren’t supposed to have a preference, and just every day was like, I kind of do.”

The launch show opened with a dance number from the professionals, judges and new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe, and showed the stars meet their partners for the first time on the dancefloor, rather than during a pre-recorded video.

Speaking during her introduction, Willis said: “It is our genuine honour to be here, and we cannot wait to spend the next 13 weeks with all of you.”

Radebe added: “It’s a brand new year in the ballroom, which means 15 new celebrities, 15 new partnerships, and four people they’re going to be desperate to impress.”

During the show, the trio presented in different combinations across both the dancefloor and in the auditorium.

After introducing the show, Willis said: “Never in a million years did I ever think I would get to dance with Strictly pros.”

Radebe added: “And I definitely never thought it would be the three of us standing in the spot.

Widdicombe interjected: “No, I’ll be honest, not many people did, Johannes.

“Why’s that got more of a laugh than I was hoping, but there we are, it’s a little bit overwhelming to be here, but we are so delighted.”

At the end of the show, the traditional “keep dancing” catchphrase was swapped for “start dancing” as they danced forwards together as a trio.

The 15 celebrities, along with their respective dance partners, will begin performing paired dances from next weekend.

Here is a round-up of the pairings:

The 30-year-old reunites with Ukrainian dancer Kuzmin, who was runner-up in the 2025 competition alongside West End star Amber Davies.

Since winning Love Island in 2018, Dyer has appeared on programmes including Celebrity MasterChef, Celebrity Gogglebox and EastEnders, and was a joint winner of this year’s Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.

She also stars alongside her father, Rivals actor Danny Dyer, in their reality series The Dyers’ Caravan Park.

House Of The Dragon star Antonia and Xu are the sixth set of same-sex partners overall in the history of Strictly.

The 28-year-old is best known for playing dragon-rider Lady Baela Targaryen in the HBO fantasy prequel series.

She has also appeared in Doctors, Stath Lets Flats, Nolly and Doctor Who, as well as the West End production of Hadestown.

Big Brother co-host Best has been paired with Buswell in her return to Strictly since giving birth to her first child with partner Joe Sugg.

Buswell said she was “very happy” with her pairing, while Best said he felt “like a champion already” when the pair were coupled up.

Winstone was partnered with Chinese dancer Gu, who took home the 2025 Glitterball trophy with former Lioness Karen Carney.

The 41-year-old actress, daughter of actor Ray Winstone, is best known for films including Made In Dagenham, Bullet Boy and Tomb Raider.

Her TV credits include Dead Set and Poirot, while she has also starred in the West End production of 2:22 A Ghost Story.

EastEnders star Turner, who is best known for her long-running role as Stacey Slater on the BBC soap, is paired with Coppola.

The Edgware-born actress, 38, has also appeared on TV shows including True Love and Call The Midwife, and starred as Molly Dawes in the military drama Our Girl.

Turner was the first contestant to be announced as taking part in Strictly this year.

Gavin And Stacey actress Walters has been paired with Slovenian dancer Skorjanec.

The 64-year-old is best known for playing Stacey’s mother Gwen West in the BBC comedy, but she has also appeared in Coronation Street, Beyond Paradise, Being Human, Hollyoaks, Doc Martin and Death Valley.

Singer and actress Goodrem has been partnered with Widdrington after representing her home country of Australia at Eurovision earlier this year.

The 41-year-old rose to fame in Neighbours, playing Nina Tucker from 2002 to 2003.

She has also featured as a coach on The Voice Australia and has achieved five Australian number one albums.

– Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon

Dame Sarah has been partnered with Australian dancer Caillon.

The cyclist and swimmer, 48, recently announced her retirement from sport but has signed up for Strictly as a new challenge.

She has 19 Paralympic gold medals, making her the most successful British Paralympian of all time.

The athlete was born without a functioning left hand after her arm became entangled in the umbilical cord in the womb, meaning her hand did not develop as normal.

Reality star Mercer is hitting the dancefloor with new professional Ingoldsby.

Ingoldsby is among five new dancers joining the 2026 line-up and is a UK national ballroom champion.

Mercer won Love Island last year alongside Toni Laites, taking home a share of the £50,000 prize pot. They have since broken up.

Celebrity hair stylist Appleton has been partnered with Dowden.

The 43-year-old is best known for working with stars including Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Lopez, Ariana Grande and Katy Perry.

Dowden has appeared on Strictly since 2017 and recently made a full return to the programme following treatment for breast cancer.

The former England footballer-turned-pundit, 44, won 36 caps for England and played for Manchester City, Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers, and will now perform in the ballroom with Warr.

He has worked as a football pundit and broadcaster with the BBC, Sky Sports, ITV and the Premier League.

Skeleton racer Stoecker is partnered with newcomer Karmalita, who is a two-time national Latin champion in his native Canada.

Stoecker, 25, is most famous for winning gold at the 2026 Winter Olympic Games.

She is also a world cup race winner, a double world championship medallist and a European championship medallist.

Social media star Nellis has been partnered with Jones.

Nellis, 33, is one of the UK and Ireland’s biggest football content creators, with a combined audience of more than 15 million followers on YouTube.

His videos have featured Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe, Cristiano Ronaldo and Erling Haaland.

Emmerdale star Robb is paired with Polish dancer Przystal.

The Scottish actor is best known for his role as Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd on the ITV soap, but he has also appeared in the Sky series I Hate Suzie and Legally Blonde: The Musical in the West End.

The 59-year-old canine professional, nicknamed “the Dog Father”, is famed for hosting Channel 5 programme Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly.

Strictly will return for its first live show of the new series next Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.