Strictly Come Dancing 2014 Cast: Professional Dancers Lineup Revealed

Strictly 2014 Hosts: Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman - Image Credit: BBC/Ray Burmiston

Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman – Image Credit: BBC/Ray Burmiston

The BBC has now officially announced the cast of Strictly Come Dancing 2014 professional dancers, with the lineup featuring a number of returning viewer favorites, plus two brand new faces.

Making his debut on the Strictly dance floor will be Ireland’s Tristan MacManus. Though this 31-year-old may be unknown to UK viewers, Tristan is no stranger to partnering up with female celebrities, having starred for three years (five seasons) on the US version of the show, Dancing With The Stars. Stateside his celeb dance partners have included actress Pamela Anderson, Olympic figure skater Dorothy Hamill and the Grammy Award-winning soul singer Gladys Knight. So there’s little chance of the Irish pro being starstruck this Autumn when he gets paired up for his first Strictly series.

Tristan first took up dancing in his home town of Bray, County Wicklow, from there he began competing throughout Europe, winning many titles along the way. In addition to his successful ballroom dancing career, Tristan has also starred in a number of stage shows such as ‘Burn The Floor’ and ‘Dirty Dancing’.

The second new name added to the 2014 list of Strictly professionals is World Ballroom Showdance Champion, Joanne Clifton. Her long list of titles include European Champion, 3 time Italian Champion and 5 time British Champion.

Joanne also happens to be the sister of fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional Kevin Clifton, who in his first series last year, was the partner of runner-up Susanna Reid. With both Joanne and Kevin now signed up for 2014, the pair become the first siblings to work on the BBC show.

Executive Producer Louise Rainbow told the BBC: “We’re delighted that Joanne and Tristan will be joining our fantastic cast of professional dancers this year and look forward to them becoming part of the Strictly family.”

Series 12 of Strictly will feature 7 male and 8 female professionals. Returning to the BBC One show after some time away will be Australian Dance Champion Natalie Lowe, while regular faces such as Anton du Beke and the popular Polish pro, Ola Jordan will once again take to the dance floor. Reigning champ Aljaž Skorjanec, who won the 2013 title with model Abbey Clancy, also returns for the new series.

Strictly Come Dancing 2014 Professional Dancers Full Cast Lineup

Men

Aljaž Skorjanec

Anton du Beke

Brendan Cole

Kevin Clifton

Pasha Kovalev

Robin Windsor

Tristan MacManus

Ladies

Aliona Vilani

Iveta Lukosiute

Janette Manrara

Joanne Clifton

Karen Hauer

Kristina Rihanoff

Natalie Lowe

Ola Jordan

The lineup of celebrity contestants who’ll be partnering up with these pros will be announced by the BBC much closer to the series 12 premiere. So far rumors of possible celebs to be taking part include Radio 1 DJ Greg James, singer Joe McElderry, former Coronation Street actress and model Helen Flanagan, and fellow soap star Michelle Collins.

When does Strictly Come Dancing 2014 start?

The Strictly 2014 start date has so far been confirmed for this Autumn, with more exact details to be announced closer to the time. Using the premiere dates of previous Strictly series as a guide, viewers should expect to see the show return to BBC One sometime around late September/early October.