matt brittin is tied to a bigger Strictly push as the adds Strictly: Lights Up to the schedule. The new spin-off begins on Sunday, 4 October, straight after the first elimination, with Tyler West and Abi Clarke taking viewers from the results show to the dancefloor.
Sarah James said the move comes while Strictly’s iPlayer audience is growing year on year, and the show’s launch already peaked at 5.8 million viewers in the overnight ratings. That makes the new format less like a one-off add-on and more like a weekly extension of the main series.
Tyler West after 2022
Tyler West, who competed on Strictly in 2022, will co-host the new post-results programme with Abi Clarke. The pair will head to the dancefloor right after the week’s elimination is announced, which gives the a way to package the immediate reaction that usually disappears once the main show ends.
Sarah James said, “Hosted by the brilliant Abi and Tyler, Lights Up will be a post-results show like no other – taking you straight on to the Strictly dancefloor for all of the immediate reaction that previously remained unseen.” That is the sharpest clue to the format: the is turning the aftermath into a regular broadcast rather than leaving it as off-air material.
iPlayer gets a Strictly hub
The bigger change may sit on iPlayer. Strictly will get its own hub, each dance from this year’s series will be uploaded individually, and viewers watching full episodes on catch-up will be able to jump through them more easily thanks to a new chapter function.
Sarah James said, “With Strictly's iPlayer audience growing year-on-year, this is the perfect time to announce a range of new exclusives that will bring viewers closer to Strictly than ever before.” She added, “Across the main shows, iPlayer and Strictly socials, there's never been so much for Strictly fans to enjoy.”
Saturday’s Pro Dance Off
The announcement follows Strictly: Pro Dance Off, which aired its first episode last Saturday as part of Saturday Mash-Up!. The moved quickly on that one too, showing how aggressively it is building around the current season rather than waiting for the usual weekly broadcast alone.
That is the tension in the story. The is adding more Strictly content even though the new spin-off is built around the immediate post-results reaction that previously stayed unseen, so the network is monetising the moment it used to leave off-screen.
For viewers, the practical change is simple: Sunday nights now carry another Strictly stop after the results show, while iPlayer becomes the cleaner way to follow the dances one by one. The open question is the first episode’s guest list, because which celebrities will appear on Strictly: Lights Up is not stated.
