Photo via Evening Standard

Strictly 2026: All the pairings and fan reaction after launch show

Read the original at Evening Standard ↗
Cite

Bishop, H. (2026, September 19). Strictly 2026: All the pairings and fan reaction after launch show. Evening Standard. https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/strictly-2026-couples-pairings-reaction-launch-show-b1297630.html

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Evening Standard · collected 2026-09-19 · by Holly Bishop

Quick Summary

The launch show for "Strictly Come Dancing" in 2026 introduced a new twist where celebrities met their professional dance partners during group routines rather than individually. This year’s lineup includes a same-sex couple pairing, Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, which has sparked both excitement and criticism on social media. Some fans praised the inclusion of diverse pairings, while others criticized the celebrity selections as unfamiliar. The first live show is scheduled for September 26.
Written by AI on 2026-09-19, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The articles discuss the 24th season launch of the British television dancing competition "Strictly Come Dancing." Here are key points from these articles:

This marks a significant change for Strictly as it introduces new hosts while maintaining its iconic format of pairing celebrities with professional dancers in ballroom dancing competitions.

Written for “Strictly 2026 Launch Show” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 9 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Strictly 2026 Launch Show
Entertainment · 10 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 20 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 50 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 22 claims Outlet record 65/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 52 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A describes the announcement of new hosts and judges for Strictly 2026, while Article B covers the actual launch show where celebrity pairings were revealed.”
BBC News
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 68/100
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 14 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A describes the launch show and pairing announcement for Strictly Come Dancing, while Article B focuses on fan reactions to one particular pairing after the show's return.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 1 of 24 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A describes the launch show of Strictly Come Dancing with new pairings, while Article B reports on Clara Amfo's secret audition for hosting the show.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 15 claims Outlet record 65/100
“Article A describes the launch show and pairing of celebrities with professional dancers, while Article B discusses Brendan Cole's reaction to this year’s lineup of stars and his appearance on a TV show, which is a different event.”
Evening Standard
Hedges 0 of 8 claims Outlet record 65/100
“The articles describe different events within the context of Strictly Come Dancing, one about a new spin-off show with Dianne Buswell teaching a dance lesson and another about the launch show where celebrities are paired with professional dancers.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
65/100
Evening Standard's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
10
Entertainment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-19 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Evening Standard · 7986 article(s) · 66 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 66 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Holly Bishop
90 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 “I hope it inspires people to be more creative and do stuff, and get experimenting with stuff that they maybe haven't tried before.
🔮 Will they lick their wounds and go on to outwit the Faithfuls to win the prize pot?
🔮 Celebrity Traitors: How James Acaster’s explosive admission may mean the Faithful win against the odds
🔮 Fans are in for a treat as the finale will last for an extra 20 minutes, ending at the slightly later time of 9.20pm.
2026-10-30 · assertive framing · What time is the final of Celebrity Traitors tonight?
🔮 After months of speculation, Lost has revealed it will be returning and has confirmed the venue, one that will likely appeal to many of its patrons.
🔮 But whether he and his wife, Nitsa Tavadze, who he married in 2023, will attend the ceremony in London this evening remains unclear after the star suffered a serious injury.
🔮 While Norway did not emerge victorious at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the 26-year-old’s goals propelled his national team from one victory to another over the summer tournament, and cemented himself as a national hero by bringing the squad into the quarter-finals for the first time ever. Alongside him every step of the way was his long-term girlfriend Isabel Haugseng Johansen, with whom he shares a child. Here’s everything we know about Isabel, as she is expected to appear alongside Haaland at this evening’s Ballon d’Or ceremony. How did the couple meet?
🔮 Paul Whitehouse pays tribute to 'amazing' dog Ted just days after broad daylight London mugging Appearing on The One Show on Thursday, October 22, Mortimer said it was “so sad” that the upcoming episode will be Ted’s last.
🔮 While it has not been announced who will star in the series, Murphy previously said he has been in touch with “around ten of the original cast members” of the show.
🔮 He will make his GALA debut next year on the opening day of the festival.
Also by Holly Bishop
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 90 articles by Holly Bishop →

Topics

No topics tagged.

Subjects

Bethany PERSON · 2× Bethany Antonia PERSON · 2× Nancy PERSON · 2× Nancy Xu PERSON · 2× Nikita Kuzmin PERSON · 2× Amy Dowden PERSON · 1× Cach Mercer PERSON · 1× Chris Appleton PERSON · 1× Emma Willils PERSON · 1× Maddie Ingoldsby PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Here is the full list of couples set to dance their way into our hearts this autumn: • Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby - Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu • Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden • Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin • Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington • Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley • Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu • John Nellis and Katya Jones •
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-19
🔮 This is something that they have never done on the show before,” said new host Emma Willils of the new twist, just days before the launch show.
2026-09-19 · Evening Standard
Strictly 2026: All the pairings and fan reaction after launch show · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 0 hedged)

The pre-recorded launch show saw our 15 new celebs paired off with 15 of our professional dancers, though this time the pairings were done in a way we’ve never seen before. asserted
we → see → way
Rather than having the celebrities find out their partners one by one, the celebrities met their professional dancer during a group dance routine. asserted
celebrities → have → routine
This is something that they have never done on the show before,” said new host Emma Willils of the new twist, just days before the launch show. asserted
Willils → do → show
Here is the full list of couples set to dance their way into our hearts this autumn: • Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby - Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu • Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden • Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin • Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington • Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley • Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu • John Nellis and Katya Jones • asserted
Mercer → set → hearts
• Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec • Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon • Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr • Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita • Will Best and Dianne Buswell. Fans have reacted to the new pairings on social media, with viewers particulalry excited about the same-sex pairing. asserted
viewers → react → pairing
It’s been three years since the Strictly featured a same-sex couple, with Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin making the final of the competition in 2023. asserted
Williams → feature → 2023
This year, House of the Dragon star Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu will be dancing it out for the Glitterball Trophy. asserted
star → dance → Trophy
“Strictly FINALLY having a female same sex pairing with finalist potential is AMAZING!!,” wrote one fan. asserted
fan → have → potential
“Nancy has been one of my favourite pros since the day she joined, I adore her energy and joy. asserted
I → join → energy
Her and Bethany are going to be a special partnership and a VERY important one!!” asserted
Her → go → ?
“I love Bethany and Nancy together they are so precious,” said a third. asserted
third → love → Bethany
Other viewers were not so happy with this year’s line-up, with some branding it the "worst line-up ever". asserted
some → brand → it
"Not got the foggiest who half of these are", one viewer posted. asserted
viewer → get → these
A second said: "When they say, "Let's meet the Celebrities", l never tire of saying 'Who?' for every single 'celebrity'." asserted
l → say → celebrity
However, not everyone was as negative, with one user commenting: “Who cares if we've heard of the contestants or not? asserted
we → comment → contestants
This time last year I didn't know who most of the celebs were but it didn't matter. asserted
it → know → celebs
The first live show starts next week on Saturday, September 26. asserted
show → start → Saturday
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support