- Melanie Blatt from All Saints confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special with Kai Widdrington
- Scarlett Moffatt and four more celebrities to compete in the festive episode judged by Strictly’s iconic panel
- Longtime hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly to bow out after this year’s Christmas special
While Strictly Come Dancing is in full swing – with injuries here, there and everywhere – the Christmas special isn’t far away, and a second celebrity has just been announced for the star-studded line-up.
All Saints star Melanie Blatt, 50, will be taking part in the festive special of the BBC show alongside professional dancer Kai Widdrington.
Melanie joins Gogglebox star Scarlett Moffatt in Strictly’s festive line-up, with the remaining four celebrities to be announced this coming week on Strictly: It Takes Two at 6:30pm.
This year six couples will dance their hearts out to be in with a chance of becoming the Strictly Christmas Champion, under the watchful gaze of judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke.
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It will be long-time hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly’s last hurrah on the show, after they announced they would be stepping away from the series earlier this year.
The Christmas special will air on Christmas Day, but will be recorded ahead of time. Last year, drag queen Tayce and her pro Kai Widdrington were victorious.
Christmas contestants have also become known to sign up for the main series, such as Jamie Borthwick in 2024 and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey in 2025, so perhaps these faces will re-appear in the future.
Who’s in the Strictly 2025 Christmas special? Here are the confirmed names so far…
Melanie Blatt
Melanie Blatt is the second star to be announced for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special.
As part of 90s band All Saints – alongside original members Shaznay Lewis, and Simone Rainford – Melanie had five UK number one hit singles and won two BRIT awards, selling over 10 million albums worldwide.
In recent years she’s pivoted to cooking, as Melanie founded a gourmet burger business and appeared as a Celebrity MasterChef finalist.
She was also in the second series of Celebrity Race Across The World and starred in Taskmaster’s New Year Treat.
On joining Strictly this Christmas, Melanie said: ‘If you can’t have a dance at Christmas, when can you?! I’m so excited to meet Kai and start training to make this a dance to remember.’
Scarlett Moffatt
Former Saturday Night Takeaway presenter Scarlett Moffatt, 35, will be paired with Vito Coppola, who won Strictly’s main series in 2023 with Ellie Leach.
She revealed the news during the live It Takes Two episode on BBC Two, appearing as a guest on the Friday panel.
Scarlett said of her casting: ‘Strictly has always held a special place in my heart, so being part of the Christmas special feels truly magical.
‘It’s the show that brings everyone together around the TV, and being part of that is a genuine personal and career highlight.
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‘I’m sure it’ll also introduce me to a few muscles I didn’t know I had. I can’t wait to live my best life on that dancefloor.’
Having shot to fame as a sofa critic alongside her parents on Gogglebox on Channel 4, Scarlett has acquired plenty of TV experience in the years since.
The Geordie star captured the hearts of the nation during the 2016 series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, which she won.
Presenting-wise, her work includes six series of the BBC Sounds podcast Scarlett Moffatt Wants to Believe, alongside Streetmate, the Channel 4 documentary Britain’s Tourette’s Mystery: Scarlett Moffatt Investigates, and 30 episodes of the cookery show Love Bites.
You might have also seen her on TV alongside Ant and Dec for I’m A Celebrity: Extra Camp, on the panel show Celebability, or on Crufts Extra.
Speaking to host Janette Manrara on It Takes Two, Scarlett was bursting with excitement that the secret was finally out
‘I just keep crying all the time,’ she joked. ‘I can say it out loud! I’m so excited.’
She described the gig as a ‘dream’ and at the ‘top of [her] bucket list’, saying she feels that she and Vito are ‘the same person’.
The new pairing have already started training for their performance, with the Christmas special involving just one dance from the celeb. Scarlett’s dance style is yet to be revealed.
‘We’ve just laughed from start to finish,’ Scarlett said, quipping: ‘Every day’s a school day!’
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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