Jaime Winstone is the eighth celebrity to join Strictly Come Dancing 2026, and she says she cannot wait to enter her showgirl era and get super sparkly. Bethany Antonia appears in the line-up here because the cast announcement lands as the new series builds toward its September start on One and iPlayer.
Thursday 23 July cast reveal
The announcement came on Thursday 23 July through @bbcstrictly’s social channels on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube. Winstone joined Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best and Dame Sarah Storey, taking the 2026 celebrity list to eight names before the ballroom doors open.
She said, “I am so excited to announce that I will be joining the Strictly Come Dancing cast this year.” The wording is doing useful work for the show: it frames the reveal as a live addition to the line-up, not just another publicity beat, and it keeps the focus on the count as much as the celebrity.
Winstone’s screen-to-stage route
Winstone began her acting career in 2004 and has since appeared in Made in Dagenham, Bullet Boy, Tomb Raider, Wild Bill, Dead Set, Torville & Dean, Poirot, Mad Dogs, Count Abdulla and Four Lives. She also received acclaim for portraying Barbara Windsor in the biopic Babs, stepped into Peggy Mitchell in EastEnders flashback specials, and later appeared in EastEnders during the soap’s 40th anniversary celebrations last year.
That stretch matters because Strictly often rewards contestants who already understand performance under pressure. Winstone is no stranger to a dance floor, but the ballroom is a whole new world for her, which is the useful complication here: she is experienced on screen and stage, yet still entering a format that changes the rules of pace, stamina and live judgment.
autumn launch
She said, “I love a challenge though, so can’t wait to enter my showgirl era and get super sparkly!!” and added, “Let’s get physical – see you on the dance floor!” Those lines give the announcement its commercial edge: the series is not just filling places, it is building a cast with a mix of familiarity and contrast before This September.
Strictly Come Dancing is a Studios Entertainment production for One and iPlayer, and the remaining summer reveals will finish the celebrity roster before the series starts. The open question that still matters for viewers is which professional dancer will partner Winstone in the 2026 series, because that pairing is the last variable that can change the early shape of the competition.
