The Strictly Come Dancing line-up will feature more men than women for the first time in the show’s history, after the full list of stars was leaked on Monday.
The family-favorite primetime show is currently embroiled in controversy over how professional dancers teach celebrities, with multiple allegations of harassment and abusive behavior emerging.
While stars Chris McCausland, JB Gill, Toyah Wilcox, Punam Krishnan, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks and Wynne Evans have already been confirmed, Sun EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland are also reported to be taking part.
Completing the line-up will be presenter Nick Knowles, Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, footballer Paul Merson, presenter Sam Quek, singer Shayne Ward, gladiator Montell Douglas and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland.
This means nine men will be taking part in this year’s Strictly, alongside just six women, and sources claim this has sparked fears that the show’s recent abuse scandals have put off any female stars considering taking part.
The Strictly Come Dancing line-up will feature more men than women for the first time in the show’s history, after the full list of stars was leaked on Monday (Tasha Ghouri pictured)
A source said: ‘Looking at the figures, it’s hard to see how the ongoing bullying controversy couldn’t have affected the recruitment process for this year’s Strictly.
‘At no point in the show’s history has there been such a small proportion of women.
‘There were signs that there might be fewer famous women taking part, one of which was the fact that Graziano was not replaced by another male professional on the show, but it’s still a shocking thing to see.’
MailOnline has contacted a representative for Strictly Come Dancing for comment.
On Wednesday, Tasha and Pete were the final two stars confirmed for the new series of Strictly.
Tasha has become the first Love Island star to appear on the show with a cochlear implant, which is an electronic device she was fitted with when she was five years old.
The model is passionate about raising awareness about the deaf community.
She appeared on ITV’s Love Island in 2022 and has since amassed over 2.2 million followers on her social media platform.
The full list reportedly includes nine men, in contrast to just six women, raising fears that the show’s recent abuse scandal has deterred female stars from taking part.
Tasha has worked with 10 Downing Street, the Department for Education and MED-AL to advocate for issues she cares about. She is the author of her first published novel, Hits Different, and has her own podcast, Superpowers with Tasha.
Announcing the news on KISS FM’s breakfast show on Wednesday, Tasha gushed: ‘Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m going to be on Strictly Come Dancing!’
“I’ve been watching this show since I was little. It’s a Ghouri family favourite so it’s a dream come true. I know it will be an unforgettable experience and I look forward to performing and making everyone on the dance floor proud.”
Pete also called Kiss FM to confirm his signing on Wednesday morning.
On the show she said: “It’s a mixture of excitement and petrification, generally petrification. I’ve been saying to people, can you really imagine me doing this? And they say, yeah, you’re right, you wouldn’t.”
‘I’m going to have to turn off my phone now because I’m going to have a ton of messages.’
He revealed that he had already told the news to his best friend Sam Thompson, who “cried.”
“I’m not kidding, she screamed, jumped and cried. She has already planned that she will come every Saturday and is making T-shirts. She is my number one fan in life, she is already making T-shirts. It’s a bit like Martha in Baby Reindeer.”
Strictly has been thrown into chaos in recent weeks following a series of allegations of abuse by staff.
The scandal erupted when actress Amanda Abbington left the show last year after claiming she was abused by co-star Giovanni Pernice, subsequently quitting the show.
Shortly afterwards it emerged that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for “kicking” his fellow Love Island star Zara McDermott.
Since then there have been a series of allegations against professional dancers, both old and new, which have left a dark cloud over the much-loved show on what is its 20th anniversary.
Laura Whitmore has accused BBC bosses of misleading her over her experience on Strictly Come Dancing with Giovanni Pernice.
The TV presenter, 39, who worked with the Italian dancer, 33, on the show in 2016, recently confirmed she had spoken to the programme about Giovanni’s “inappropriate behaviour”, following her claims she initially raised her concerns with the BBC six years ago.
And in a dramatic new statement, the star has shed more light on her experience on Strictly, telling how “it’s all coming out into the open now” amid a flurry of allegations against the show and its professional dancers.
Speaking to The Irish PostLaura told how she thinks the industry has changed for women since she found fame, noting that women are “louder” and now “encourage people to talk about things.”
She added of her situation on Strictly: ‘The things I’m not going to talk to you about now, because they’re under review, that’s all coming out now, the things I tried to talk about eight years ago.
Asked if she was not “listened to” when she first raised her complaints, she shared: “Or (I was) tricked into making it seem normalized.”
Laura added: “It’s a shame that this has to come to light in such a humiliating way, as it always does. And being the first person to speak out about something is always hard.”
The presenter’s comments come days after she broke her silence on the Strictly scandal and confirmed she had spoken to BBC bosses about Giovanni’s behaviour.
The scandal erupted when actress Amanda Abbington left the show last year after claiming she was abused by her partner Giovanni Pernice and then quit the show.
Although she has not filed a formal complaint, Laura hopes to obtain “a simple acceptance” of what happened to her in the rehearsal room.
Laura admitted she had spoken to six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and took their information to the BBC.
In an Instagram post, Laura wrote: ‘I was trying not to comment on the recent press speculation until the BBC review is complete, but I feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I want to help and show support by setting the record straight.
‘I was asked to speak to the BBC along with six people I know (who deserve anonymity because they do not want to appear in the press) about inappropriate behaviour they experienced similar to mine with the same individual.
‘I initially expressed my concern in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me, but then I realized I was wrong.
“The point of this is to show a pattern of behaviour that I believe needs to be stopped. My evidence is to support other people’s experience. It’s a shame that it takes this for someone to be heard.
‘I’m not looking for anything, just acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time on BBC Strictly was wrong and it won’t happen to anyone else again.
‘As I have not filed an official complaint and am providing evidence from my experience to support the investigation, not all communication will be passed on to all parties involved.
‘Misinformation is being spread in the press, so I want to set the record straight. We need to stop blaming the victims or we will never improve.
“I’ve tried to speak out in the right way. I know the BBC and all the media are still doing everything they can to improve, but for that to happen we need to speak out.”
