BBC One has finally revealed the pairing for Strictly Come Dancing 2022 – and now the REAL work begins.
This year’s new line-up of celebrity hopefuls were finally coupled up with their professional dancers on Friday night’s launch show (Friday September 23 2022).
Among the pairings, there are two same-sex couples and the pairings are genius!
Here’s a rundown of this years Strictly Come Dancing couples.
Strictly pairings 2022: Ellie Simmonds and Nikita Kuzmin
Sports star Ellie Simmonds will be aiming for gold with her professional partner Nikita Kuzmin.
Ellie is a former Paralympian swimmer, who’s won two gold medals for Great Britain.
Now, the star is reaching for the glitter ball in the hit BBC series alongside her partner Nikita Kuzmin.
Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe
Ellie Taylor has been left in the safe hands of pro dancer Johannes Radebe.
Johannes made history last year when he partnered with John Whaite in Strictly’s first ever all-male couple.
The pair won over the nation and ended up finishing in second place behind Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovani Pernice.
We’re excited to see where the dancer will end up on the leaderboard this year…
Talking to us about her partner Johannes, Ellie said: “I’m so excited to get Johannes.
“Johannes got to the final with John, so now he’s been there and done that, he doesn’t need to do it again.
“I’ll never be as good as John, so we can just have fun this year.”
Strictly pairings 2022: Fleur East and Vito Coppola
One of Strictly’s newest professionals, Vito Coppola, has been partnered with singer Fleur East.
Fleur rose to fame after appearing on the singing competition The X Factor, and now she’s ready to compete for the Strictly glitter ball.
But can she dance as well as she sings?
About meeting Vito, Fleur told ED!: “I was so nervous about that part because that is your journey.
“Your partner is your journey – it’s the whole thing.
“I was so excited. We both just our energy straight away.
“We just clicked instantly.
“It’s his first time doing it. It’s my first time experiencing this, so it’s that we get to experience it together in that way, which is really nice.
“I know he’s going to work me hard, but at the same time, we laugh a lot as well.”
Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal
Cameraman Hamza Yassin will be taking on the dance floor alongside Strictly pro Jowita Przystal.
Hamza has spent almost his entire career behind the camera inside of in front of it.
Viewers might know Hamza for working on shows like Countryfile and Animal Park.
So will he be able to handle the spotlight in Strictly this series?
Strictly pairings 2022: Helen Skelton and Gorka Marquez
Helen Skelton has taken on a range of daring challenges from tightrope walking between chimneys and completing ultra marathons.
And now she’s ready to smash Strictly Come Dancing alongside her partner Gorka Marquez.
Gorka has been on the series since 2016, and it’s also where he met his fiancée Gemma Atkinson.
James Bye and Amy Dowden
Amy Dowden, who has been a professional dancer on Strictly since 2017, will be putting James Bye through his paces.
EastEnders viewers know actor James Bye for his role as Martin Fowler in the BBC soap.
Amy Dowden was a finalist in the 17th series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual.
So could this be the year Amy finally takes home the trophy?
James told us: “Amy’s one of my favourite pro dancers, so I’m over the moon.
“I’m quite tall, so I never really thought they’d put me with Amy.”
Strictly pairings 2022: Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer
Strictly veteran Karen Hauer and Jayde Adams are the first same-sex pairing on the show.
Jayde Adams is a comedian who has a more personal connection to dance than we might think.
From the age of five to 17, Jayde Adams used to take part in freestyle disco dancing competitions with her late sister Jenna.
She told BBC: “We used to have to dance together because we were sisters and it was easier.
“And I’ll be honest with you, I think I held her back a bit.”
We can’t wait to see Jayde and Karen bring the girl power in this exciting pairing!
Of course, Nicola Adams and Katya Jones were in a same-sex pairing in 2020, but were forced to withdraw because of Covid.
Talking about her pairing with Karen, Jayde told us: “My partnership with Karen is more about sisterhood.
“If you’re in the dance world, which I was as a child, the sort of all girl and all male partnerships is quite commonplace.
“It doesn’t seem like anything that is abnormal to me. It seems like a completely natural thing.
“And to be honest with you, if I was in a male partnership, show me one of the lads that’s lifting me?!
“I going to be able to throw Karen around!”
Kaye Adams and Kai Widdrington
Professional dancer Kai Widdrington has been paired up with Kaye Adams.
Of course, Loose Women viewers know Kaye best for being on the panel of the ITV show.
Talking to BBC about her reason for joining the show, she said: “I said I wanted to make the last year of my 50s memorable and I can’t think of a better way of doing it than showing the world my two left feet. Pray for me!”
Kaye told us: “First time I met Kai, I thought ‘Jesus Christ, I could have given birth to him!’
“But you know what? Knowing him now, I wish I had.
“He is such a lovely, lovely guy – so talented, with a great sense of humour.”
Strictly pairings 2022: Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima
Graziano Di Prima returns to the ballroom this year and is paired with Kym Marsh.
Kym Marsh began her career on reality series Popstars, where she landing a place in the band Hear’Say.
She’s currently one of the favourites to win Strictly Come Dancing 2022.
Kym will be dancing with partner Graziano Di Prima, who recently married his long-term partner Giada Lini.
Talking to the Daily Mail, Graziano said: “I tried to be strong all day but I couldn’t stop crying because of the love I feel for Giada.
“When I saw her arrive in the horse and carriage I started to cry.”
Talking about partner Graziano, Kym told us: “I have been very fortunate to have met several of the pros while doing Morning Live because they’ve come on and done the Strictly fitness.
“Graziano is one of the pros that I got to know quite well.
“He’s just a genuinely lovely man.”
Matt Gross and Nadiya Bychkova
New dancer Nadiya Bychkova will be helping singer Matt Gross swap songs for dance steps.
Matt Gross was the lead singer of the pop group Bros in the 80s and 90s, alongside his twin brother Luke.
Ahead of his appearance on Strictly, Matt revealed that he’s not concerned about the Strictly curse.
He told This Morning: “The Strictly curse doesn’t concern me at all.
“I’m there to learn and that’s it.”
And he certainly doesn’t have anything to worry about as his partner Nadiya Bychkova recently moved in with her co-star Kai Widdrington.
Speaking about his partner, Matt told us: “Nadiya and I met at the O2.
“It was nice in a way for me to say ‘this is my church’.
“Nadiya is very calm. She’s super kind, super patient.
“I am completely surrendering to her knowledge.”
Strictly pairings 2022: Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu
Carlos Gu is another one of the new professionals to join the show this year.
The professional dancer will make his debut alongside singer Molly Rainford.
Molly was a finalist on Britain’s Got Talent at the age of 11 in 2012.
However, she sadly lost to the dancing dog act Ashleigh and Pudsey.
But although she didn’t win Britain’s Got Talent, Molly might have what it takes to win Strictly!
Molly says about Carlos: “I feel like he’s going balance me out a little bit.
“I’m loud, and he’s a bit more calm.
“So he’s going to keep me on the ground.”
Richie Anderson and Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice is one half of the second same-sex pairing on Strictly 2022, alongside BBC Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson.
Giovanni soared to victory last year with Rose Ayling-Ellis.
This year, he will be taking on the challenge of competing in Strictly’s second ever all-male pairing.
He is partnered with male celebrity Richie Anderson, and we’re excited to see how well they do…
Richie says of partner Giovanni: “I absolutely love Giovanni because we’ve had him on the radio a couple of times.
“He’s such a nice guy – and him and Rose last year…
“It was epic, there wasn’t a dry eye in the nation.
“He’s such a great teacher, a great guy.
“I feel like I’m in good hands with him.
“If anybody could get these hips moving, it’s Giovanni!”
Richie also revealed that he celebrates his 10 year anniversary with partner Dean in October.
Strictly pairings 2022: Tony Adams and Katya Jones
Strictly pro Katya Jones will be dancing with Tony Adams this year.
Tony is an English football manager and former professional player.
He played for Arsenal and England and even captained for both teams, so we know he’s definitely good with his feet!
But is it enough to win Strictly Come Dancing 2022?
Tony joked about his partner: “Katya is more like George Graham than Arsene Wenger.”
Tyler West and Dianne Buswell
Australian dancer Dianne Buswell is back on Strictly and this year she will be joined by Tyler West.
Tyler is a presenter, DJ and radio host, best known for hosting the Weekday Afternoons slot on Kiss.
We’re looking forward to see if his passion for music will help grant him a place at the top of the leaderboard!
Diane Buswell is another Strictly professional who found love on the show with 2018 partner Joe Sugg.
The pair became finalists in the series and are still happily together now.
Strictly pairings 2022: Will Mellor and Nancy Xu
Nancy Xu will also be hoping for her first win alongside actor Will Mellor.
TV fans will know Will for starring in a string of hit shows like Line of Duty and Hollyoaks.
In 2021, he also appeared in the ITV soap Coronation Street as Harvey Gaskell.
We’re excited to see the TV star strut his stuff on the dance floor!
Talking about his partner, Will said: “Nancy is crackers!
“I had a connection with her from the beginning.
“She’s got an amazing energy about her, very similar to me.
“We’re both a bit bonkers but it’ll work.”
Read more: Strictly Come Dancing contestants 2022: Is Jayde Adams related to Kaye Adams?
Strictly fans can watch the first live show on Saturday September 24 2022 at 6.45pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
What do you think about the Strictly couples? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know.