Vick Hope has just been announced as the Strictly Come Dancing 2018 contestant. The star, 28, confirmed the news earlier today on Capital FM, which she co-hosts with Roman Kemp. Newcastle-born Vick admitted she can’t wait to get started on the BBC’s stalwart talent show. The DJ wrote on the BBC’s Twitter announcement: “I’m so excited about being a contestant on this year’s Strictly.
“I’ve always been such a massive fan of the show so it’s a huge honour to be part of this series. “Dances like Ballroom and Latin are totally outside my comfort zone but I love dancing, it makes people happy - myself included. “To be able to perform every Saturday is such an incredible opportunity - I couldn’t be looking forward to it any more and I will be throwing myself into it, working hard and learning from the judges every week.” Vick has been a regular across TV and radio for years. She currently co-hosts on Capital FM with Roman Kemp as well as hosting 4Music Trending Live and Box Fresh. She also reports for ITV where she produces scripts, edits and presents news and entertainment bulletins. Earlier this year, Vick joined The Voice and The Voice Kids as a digital reporter. She also fronts Sky One’s Carnage alongside Freddie Flintoff and Lethal Bizzle. STRICTLY COME DANCING 2018 LINE-UP
Strictly Come Dancing 2018 line up: Vick Hope fifth star confirmed to compete
Strictly Come Dancing 2018 line-up: Vick Hope will be taking to the ballroom floor
Speaking on Capital FM earlier today, Vick gushed: “I love dancing. I used to love contemporary dancing. “I used to be a tree, a rock. I don’t really know my Waltz from my Rhumba, but I’m out of my comfort zone.” Roman decided to quiz her on whether she would find love on Strictly Come Dancing given the show’s previous romances. She laughed: “I have much bigger things to worry about.” Furthermore, the DJ giggled about how happy she was to be getting close to Faye Tozer from Steps.
Strictly Come Dancing 2018 line-up: Vick Hope presents on Capital FM with Roman Kemp
Vick said: “I’m going to be near to Faye from Steps! “I might actually have to be taken away from her. I’ll be going up to her like, ‘Tragedy!’” Vick will join Faye on Saturday nights along with the three other confirmed members of the Strictly Come Dancing line-up. Danny John-Jules, Joe Sugg and Katie Piper have also been announced for the 2018 series. Strictly Come Dancing will return to BBC One later this year.
Vick Hope has been confirmed for Strictly (Picture: BBC/Getty)
Vick Hope has been announced as the fifth contestant for Strictly Come Dancing 2018.
Joined by Capital FM Breakfast show co-hosts Roman Kemp and Sonny Jay, Vick confirmed her appearance after being heavily rumoured over the past week.
Speaking on the show, Vick said: ‘I can tell you that every Saturday night I’m going to be able to get close to Faye from Steps. I’m doing Strictly!
‘It’s really surreal. This is a huge show. My mum knows this show, everyone loves it, everyone watches it.
‘I cannot pretend I’m a celebrity like some of the others, like the level of their following or their experience. What an opportunity. I’m a fan of the show and I feel very honoured to be a part of it.’
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Originally from Newcastle Upon Tyne, Vick joined the radio station’s breakfast show back in April 2017, and also hosts Sky One’s Carnage with Freddie Flintoff and Lethal Bizzle.
Vick Hope has been confirmed as the fifth contestant (Picture: Samir Hussein/WireImage)
She has also worked on other networks like 4Music, MTV and ITN.
Strictly is set to start filming this month, with more names to be announced over the next two weeks ahead of the red carpet launch.
Other confirmed contestants include Joe Sugg, Red Dwarf’s Danny John-Jules, Steps’ Faye Tozer and Katie Piper.
This year’s line-up is also tipped to include Coronation Street’s Catherine Tyldesley and Olympic diver Tom Daley.
Strictly is yet to receive an official start date but the launch show is expected to kick off in September.
MORE: Joe Sugg is giving up alcohol for Strictly Come Dancing as he reveals he’s ‘never danced sober’
MORE: Former Strictly Come Dancing pro Robin Windsor has no idea who new contestant Joe Sugg is
Find out who's been CONFIRMED and who else could be a Strictly Come Dancing 2018 contestant this autumn on BBC1
The Strictly Come Dancing line-up rumours are in full swing, with plenty of actors, presenters and TV stars in the mix for 2018 – and the first contestants are now starting to be CONFIRMED…
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STRICTLY 2018: CONFIRMED CONTESTANTS
Our next #Strictly Hope-ful knows her way around the decks, but how about the dancefloor? 🎧 Not long until we find out, Vick Hope! @VickNHope https://t.co/uXa8WiFMg1 pic.twitter.com/n1cbWmM4Et — BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) August 15, 2018
The Radio DJ, who currently hosts Capital FM’s breakfast show with Roman Kemp, was the fifth celebrity confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2018.
Hope, 28, revealed the news on Capital herself, saying she was “honoured” to be going on the show and admitting she doesn’t have a huge amount of dancing experience: “I used to do contemporary dance, I’d pretend to be a tree or a rock. I don’t know how helpful that’s going to be…”
He's swapping the Sugg life for the #Strictly life, and YouTube for dancing shoes… Welcome Joe Sugg to our 2018 line-up! 🕺 @Joe_Sugg https://t.co/7bXboRbkVZ pic.twitter.com/iBrtOXSeeS — BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) August 14, 2018
The fourth celebrity confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing 2018 is YouTube star and vlogger Joe Sugg.
Joe, who is the brother of fellow YouTuber Zoella, was previously rumoured to be taking part. But now, he has been confirmed. Joe said: “I’m honestly so chuffed to be involved in the show this year!
“Not going to lie, I’m very nervous about it, it’s totally out of my comfort zone and I know it will be a huge challenge but that’s what life is all about I guess. Funnily enough I’m writing this statement whilst on the way to surprise my grandparents with the news. They are going to be so happy which will definitely make up for any embarrassment or cringe caused by my questionable rhythm.”
The Cat's out of the bag 🙀Danny John-Jules is going to be having fun, fun, fun on #Strictly this year! https://t.co/4k1rKuZzjb pic.twitter.com/d2zqSgTiom — BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) August 13, 2018
John-Jules, best known as Cat from Red Dwarf or policeman Dwayne Myers from Death in Paradise, was the third celebrity to be revealed for this year’s show.
As well as dancing with the cast of Red Dwarf for Comic Relief, John-Jules also performed alongside George Michael in the music video for Wham! single The Edge of Heaven.
“A friend of mine worked in their offices and they were looking for a couple of dancers,”John-Jules explained on The One Show. “So I ended up actually choreographing a bit of stuff for him. It was all based on his dancing more than ours. I just put a few little steps together.”
5, 6, 7, 8… which celeb on #Strictly would be great? Everybody clap your hands, get on up and dance for Faye Tozer! 👏 @Faye_Tozer https://t.co/cnGzlyVtRC pic.twitter.com/ikYkjCwHTJ — BBC Strictly✨ (@bbcstrictly) August 13, 2018
The Steps singer was the second celebrity revealed for this year’s competition, with the 42-year-old unveiled on The One Show.
“Being on Strictly is literally a dream come true! It’s everything my 9-year-old self ever wanted from showbiz and I’m going to relish every moment!” she said.
Of course, Tozer isn’t a dancing newbie, with the pop star having to pull off routines in front of live audiences before. “I think you’ll find a few of us have [experience],” she said when questioned by One Show host Alex Jones.
“It’s what makes it an interesting competition. Even though I have got some experience, I don’t have any ballroom experience, so I’m really excited to get my teeth into that.”
The 34-year-old television presenter is the first celebrity confirmed for this year’s competition, with the news unveiled on BBC’s Breakfast.
Although she says she’s fiercely competitive, the former model admits she struggles to clap in time. “Any fear or reservations I have is that I don’t have the natural rhythm,” she said.
Who is Katie Piper? Meet the Strictly Come Dancing 2018 contestant
She added: “I feel so privileged and excited to be part of my favourite show on TV. I already know how much of an amazing experience it will be for me and I can’t wait to show my girls some of my new dance moves. I’m nervous to put on my dancing shoes but can’t wait to learn a new skill and have the Strictly tan and makeover!”
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So who else will be on that final confirmed list? Ahead of series 16, we round up all of the whispers and gossip…
Making up an 18-strong line-up, regular faces AJ Pritchard, Aljaž Škorjanec, Amy Dowden, Anton Du Beke, Dianne Buswell, Giovanni Pernice, Gorka Marquez, Janette Manrara, Karen Clifton, Katya Jones, Kevin Clifton, Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Oti Mabuse and Pasha Kovalev will all be in the mix once again.
Sadly, Brendan Cole won't be returning. The pro dancer appeared on ITV's Lorraine at the start of the year, where he revealed that the BBC had not offered to extend his contract, and broke the news to him over the phone.
"It's quite, actually, hard to talk about," Brendan said. "The BBC haven't renewed my contract. We get contracted year upon year.
"They've made an editorial decision to not have me back on the show. I'm a little bit in shock. I'm quite emotional, a bit raw about it.
"It's done via a process of a phone call and stuff. I have had 15 incredible series on the show. I'm very proud of the whole show. It's a great team."
Gutted.
4. Strictly Come Dancing 2018: Who are the judges?
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Head judge Len Goodman retired in 2016 after 14 series – and we still miss the heck out of him.
We expect that Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli and Craig Revel Horwood will almost certainly be returning to the judging panel. After Len retired, the Beeb hired his very good friend Shirley Ballas, also known as the 'Queen of Latin', to replace him last year and apparently, Len was delighted she got the job.
However, she didn't get off to a great start last series and was given a rough ride by viewers.
Since then, Shirley has hinted she may not return in 2018. When asked if she wanted to stay on last series, she told The Sun: "Let's wait and get this season over with first. It's been an experience. And at 57! It's been wonderful."
But in April, rumours started swirling that all four judges, including Shirley, would be back in the ballroom for Strictly's 2018 series. The BBC isn't commenting (and to be fair, they never comment on speculation and it's still a bit early for a formal announcement, which we've been told we can expect "in due course").
5. Strictly Come Dancing 2018: Will there be same-sex couples?
It's been a question that we've all been asking numerous times over the years, but a spokesperson shut the idea down for another year this week.
The statement said: "Strictly has chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples and at the moment we have no plans to introduce same-sex couples."
A same-sex couple took part on Israel's version of the show back in 2010 and America's Dancing with the Stars made history in 2016 with a same-sex dance - so here's hoping that it may be considered in the future.
6. Strictly Come Dancing 2018: What about It Takes Two?
We're pleased to report It Takes Two is 100% coming back. Zoe Ball confirmed that she will be returning to our screens to present the spin-off series.
Speaking on This Morning, she told Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby that she'd signed up for another series. However, when the presenting duo pressed her to spill some secrets on the celebs taking part, she suddenly became very tight-lipped: "They never tell me anything, because I have a big mouth. You just have to wait and see."
7. Will Len Goodman make an appearance on Strictly Come Dancing 2018?
© BBC
Len was supposed to last series but didn't, despite hinting that he would. During an appearance on The One Show, the retired judge said he would be be back for sure, just not on the judging panel.
Fingers crossed he decides to grace us with his presence this series. We hope you're reading this, Len!
8. Where can I see Strictly's tribute to Bruce Forsyth again?
© Getty Images
Related: Bruce Forsyth obituary: Remembering an iconic entertainer and TV star
Strictly Come Dancing paid a moving tribute to former host Sir Bruce Forsyth, who sadly passed away at the age of 89 in August 2017.
Brucie was honoured during Strictly's 2017 launch show in September, with producer Louise Rainbow originally confirming the news and revealing that the professional dancers would group together for a "heartfelt" dance in his honour.
"The thoughts of everyone here at Strictly are still very much with Sir Bruce's family," Louise said in a statement at the time.
"Of course, we will be paying tribute to Sir Bruce at our launch show and this will include a heartfelt performance from our Strictly professional dancers.
"We all want to celebrate him and all that he loved about the show. Sir Bruce was, and will always be, a huge part of Strictly Come Dancing."
And they did him proud with this tribute, and a routine that moved his long-time co-host and friend Tess Daly to tears.
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