The fans of Strictly Come Dancing have spoken!

By Lauren Morris

Published: Saturday, 18 September 2021 at 12:00 am


Strictly Come Dancing returns to our screens this evening with its 19th series and while fans are looking forward to seeing the 2021 celebrities make their dancing debut, we’re also excited to see the show’s beloved professionals back on the ballroom floor.

The BBC One show’s cast of accomplished dancers are all fun, fabulous and incredibly talented – however, everyone has their favourite and the Strictly Come Dancing fans have finally had their say as to which Charleston champion or Salsa star they love the most.

After receiving almost 6,000 votes, a RadioTimes.com exclusive poll can reveal that Strictly Come Dancing fans have voted Aljaž Škorjanec to be their favourite professional dancer on the show.

The Slovenian pro, who joined Strictly in 2013 – the year he won the show with Abbey Clancy, received 20 per cent of the vote, closely followed by two-time winner Oti Mabuse with 14 per cent.

The likes of Dianne Buswell (15 per cent) and Amy Dowden (11 per cent) also received a significant amount of votes, while the public also chose Giovanni Pernice (eight per cent), Gorka Marqeuz (six per cent) and Johannes Radebe (seven per cent) to be their favourites.

Over the last eight years, Škorjanec, who is a 19-time Slovenian ballroom, latin and Ten Dance champion, has competed alongside Abbey Clancy, This Morning’s Alison Hammond, Call the Midwife’s Helen George, model Daisy Lowe, actress Gemma Atkinson, BBC newsreader Kate Silverton, socialite Emma Weymouth and most recently, BBC Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo.

His 2021 partner will be revealed during tonight’s show and could be either AJ Odudu, Judi Love, Katie McGlynn, Nina Wadia, Rose Ayling-Ellis, Sara Davies, Tilly Ramsay or even John Whaite, who’ll be the first celebrity to be in an all-male Strictly partnership.

Strictly Come Dancing starts on BBC One on Saturday 18th September. Want something else to watch? Check out our full TV Guide or visit our Entertainment hub for the latest news.