12 Celebrities you forgot were on Strictly Come Dancing – from girlband royalty to soap legends
As series 15 kicks off, here's some famous faces that have taken to the dancefloor
STRICTLY Come Dancing is about to play host to a new line-up of celebrities including Mollie King, Gemma Atkinson and Davood Ghadami.
But out of the 128 contestants that have participated since 2004’s launch series, can you remember these famous faces?
Emma Bunton
One of the most famous faces to take part on Strictly Come Dancing, Emma Bunton starred in the fourth series in 2006.
Coming in a respectable third place, Emma used her time on Strictly to launch her third solo album, Life In Mono.
A year later she reunited with the Spice Girls for a megabucks reunion tour.
David Dickinson
Before Ed Balls redefined Saturday night entertainment with his bizarre take on Gangnam Style, antique expert David Dickinson thrilled the nation with his Cha-Cha-Cha to Tom Jones’ classic, Sex Bomb.
Carol Vorderman
The mathematics genius took time out of her Countdown co-hosting role to participate in the second series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Carol Vorderman landed in the bottom two on the first week and was eliminated in week two.
Zoe Ball
Zoe reached the final of Strictly Come Dancing’s third series in 2005. Partnered with Ian Waite, she landed in a respectable third place position behind Olympic hurdler Colin Jackson and England cricketer Darren Gough.
In 2011, Zoe Ball returned to Strictly Come Dancing as the host of spin-off show, Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.
In 2014 she co-hosted the main show with Tess Daly when regular presenter Claudia Winkleman was absent.
Fiona Phillips
Daytime TV icon Fiona Phillips was the fourth celebrity to be eliminated from Strictly’s third series.
Partnered with show favourite Brendan Cole, Fiona has since revealed she was struggling with depression during her time on the show.
Speaking in May 2017, she told: “I didn’t seek help – I didn’t have time.
“I was asked to do the first series and the second. Then my agent said, ‘If you don’t do it now you can say goodbye to big gigs at the BBC’, and what have you.
“There was real pressure…
“So I did it but I wasn’t well enough to be doing it, mentally.
Kelly Brook
Kelly Brook took part in the fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing, competing against eventual winner Alesha Dixon in 2007.
Sadly, Kelly’s father passed away during her time on the show and she withdrew four weeks before the final after struggling to get through rehearsals.
Heather Small
She rose to fame as the voice of the M People, but Heather Small should be just as ‘Proud’ of her Strictly performance.
The singer lasted eight weeks in the dance competition, fending off competition from EastEnders actress Jessie Wallace and GMTV presenter Andrew Castle.
Since her stint on Strictly Come Dancing, Heather Small reunited with the M People for an anniversary tour and continues to gig as a solo artist.
Natalie Cassidy
As EastEnders favourite Sonia Jackson, Natalie Cassidy became one of the nation’s most-loved soap personalities.
She competed in Strictly Come Dancing in 2009 and made it all the way to fifth place.
She’s since made a series of returns to EastEnders alongside a turn on Celebrity Big Brother and frequent appearances on Loose Women and This Morning.
Ricky Whittle
Ricky Whittle rose to fame in Hollyoaks before winning over a new audience in Strictly Come Dancing.
The hunky actor landed in second place on the seventh series, losing out to sports correspondent Chris Hollins.
Ricky has since gone on to international fame with a lead role in hit US TV show, American Gods.
Michelle Williams
Having rose to fame as one third of Destiny’s Child, Michelle Williams stepped out on her own in the eighth series of Strictly.
After years of dancing next to Beyonce and Kelly Rowland, she was now partnered up with show favourite Brendan Cole.
Michelle was the sixth celebrity to be eliminated after landing in the bottom two for the fourth time.
Paul Daniels
Legendary magician and entertainer Paul Daniels took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2010 and was partnered with Ola Jordan.
His performance was constantly criticised by the judges and Paul became the second celebrity to be eliminated.
After Paul’s death in 2016, Ola Jordan described the entertainer as being “an absolute pleasure to work with.”
Jamelia
She was the undisputed Princess of R&B in the early ’00s and although she’s not released music in over a decade, Jamelia has since carved out a career as a reality judge on The Voice of Ireland, a panellist on Loose Women and as a documentary host for BBC Three.
Jamelia took part in the 13th series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2015 and was the eighth celebrity to be eliminated, after landing in the bottom two for the fifth time.
