Love Island star Cach Mercer joins Strictly line-up

ByPaul Glynn, Steven McIntosh and Helen Bushby

Culture reporters

Love Island's 2025 champion Cach Mercer is the 5th personage confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2026.

He was portion of the winning mates connected the ITV dating amusement past year, and besides works arsenic a exemplary and DJ, and is an ambassador for a young people's intelligence wellness charity.

"I person grown up watching the amusement with my household and americium truthful excited to present beryllium portion of the cast," helium said.

Mercer besides showcases his Afrobeat, hip-hop and thoroughfare creation moves connected his societal media accounts.

"Dancing is simply a immense passionateness of excavation and I can't hold to larn ballroom and bash the foxtrot for the archetypal time!" helium added.

Celebrity hairsbreadth stylist Chris Appleton is besides portion of this year's line-up.

Appleton, champion known for his enactment with Kim Kardashian, joins singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem, EastEnders histrion Lacey Turner and world prima Dani Dyer successful the conflict for the Glitterball trophy.

The Leicester-born Color Wow originative manager said: "I'm thrilled to beryllium joining Strictly Come Dancing and coming location to the UK for this unthinkable experience."

He has besides created reddish carpet looks for the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Katy Perry and Ariana Grande, portion having his enactment showcased connected the covers of publications including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Vanity Fair.

"I've ever believed that the champion things hap erstwhile you instrumentality a accidental and effort thing new," added the 43-year-old, who this twelvemonth released a memoir entitled Your Roots Don't Define You.

"I whitethorn cognize my mode astir a salon floor, but the creation level is simply a full antithetic communicative - and I can't hold to get started."

Delta Goodrem is besides portion of this year's personage list, with the Australian vocalist and histrion becoming the 3rd personage to beryllium announced for the upcoming series.

"I've been incredibly honoured to execute connected galore antithetic stages passim my vocation - from TV, theatre, movie sets, to touring my ain shows astir the world," Goodrem said.

"There is, however, 1 signifier I've ne'er stepped onto and that is the ballroom floor. I'm perfectly thrilled to beryllium joining Strictly and can't hold to get started."

She roseate to fame successful deed Australian soap opera Neighbours and precocious represented her federation successful the 2026 variation of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Lacey Turner was the archetypal contestant to beryllium announced for this year's series, which is expected to statesman successful September.

She said she was "so excited to being making my mode to the creation floor", adding that she was a "huge fan" of the show.

Turner, 38, is champion known for her relation arsenic Stacey Slater connected the BBC One soap, which she joined successful 2004.

She has won a British Soap Award and National Television Award for her role, and has besides starred successful TV dramas including the BBC's Our Girl.

In a video posted connected Instagram, Turner said she was "so excited and truthful terrified astatine the aforesaid time" to beryllium taking portion successful the show.

"But I've had truthful galore friends bash Strictly, and I thought it was astir clip that I pluck up the courageousness and made my mode connected to the creation floor."

Dani Dyer, the media property and girl of histrion Danny Dyer appeared successful the motorboat occurrence past year, but was past injured successful grooming and pulled retired earlier the contention began.

That incidental has not enactment her disconnected trying again. "I americium truthful excited to beryllium backmost successful the ballroom this September," she said.

"I conscionable cannot hold to get my dancing shoes backmost connected and hopefully this clip astir I tin really marque it to week one! I'm conscionable implicit the satellite and cannot hold to find retired who other is doing it."

The 29-year-old, who archetypal recovered fame connected Love Island successful 2018, fractured her ankle erstwhile she "landed funny" successful rehearsals with creation spouse Nikita Kuzmin earlier the competitory episodes began past September.

She was replaced by histrion Amber Davies, different erstwhile Love Island winner, who went connected to scope the Strictly final.

Earlier this year, Dyer was associated victor of Channel 4's Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and appeared with her dada successful TV amusement The Dyers' Caravan Park.

"Welcome backmost @danidyerxx," posted caput justice Shirley Ballas connected Instagram.

Comedian Josh Widdicombe, portion of the show's caller hosting trio, wrote: "YES DANI!!!!"

Widdicombe volition contiguous the caller bid alongside Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe, pursuing the departures of Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

The archetypal line-up announcements were made importantly earlier than accustomed - the BBC usually confirms the line-up successful August.

Speaking to ITV's Good Morning Britain recently, Ballas said: "There are going to beryllium immoderate radical connected determination that volition marque you spell 'wow'."

Asked astir the caller presenting trio, Ballas said she was "very excited to spot what they bring" to the show.

"I cognize they took tons of chemistry tests, arsenic did everybody, and those chemistry tests person brought those 3 radical together, and I judge it's perfectly unbelievable," she said.

Ballas described the fig of caller elements connected this year's amusement arsenic "quite extraordinary", but added that it volition inactive consciousness acquainted to viewers.

"I don't deliberation they'll alteration the amusement excessively much, possibly tweaks present and there, but nary large changes."

Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke volition each instrumentality arsenic judges.

However, nonrecreational dancers Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Karen Hauer and Michelle Tsiakkas will not beryllium coming backmost this year.

But different regulars including Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones, Vito Coppola and Aljaz Skorjanec volition beryllium backmost connected the creation floor.