Heat is on celeb dancers in new-look Strictly
STRICTLY Come Dancing bosses have turned up the heat on this year's celebrity dancers.
The hit BBC talent show, in which 16 famous faces aim to win over a panel of judges and the public with their show stopping moves, will be spread over two nights for the first two weeks.
EXPRESS PHOTO GALLERY: STRICTLY COME DANCING LINE-UP
Kicking off on September 18, half of the contestants will be put through their paces with a classic waltz or a tango. The following night, the same couples will up the stakes with a cha-cha or a rumba.
After the Saturday show, the judge's scores will be added together and the public vote will begin.
The two couples with lowest scores from a combination of judges' points and audience votes will then face each other in a dance-off.
It's then up to veteran judges Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli - as well as the newest addition to the panel, former Strictly champion Alesha Dixon - to decide which couple to save.
The remaining eight showbiz dancers and their partners won't get to strut their stuff until the following week, when the same happens all over again.
From week three the series will move to Saturday nights only where viewers can get their Strictly fix in a bumper show with the dances, voting and the results all in one episode.
The glittering line-up, which was unveiled last month, includes banned tennis ace Martina Hingis, who will be up against the likes of soap babe Ali Bastian, former boxer Joe Calzaghe and actress Lynda Bellingham.
The second group includes Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood's estranged wife Jo, Natalie Cassidy who shot to soap fame as Sonia in EastEnders and Footballers' Wives co-stars Zoe Lucker and Laila Rouass.
TV host Bruce Forsyth is back for the seventh series with co-host Tess Daly.
And world-famous ballet dancer Darcey Bussell will appear as a guest judge in the last three shows of the series.
Dancing in the first week are:
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna
Lynda Bellingham and Darren Bennett
Joe Calzaghe and Kristina Rihanoff
Ricky Groves and Erin Boag
Martina Hingis and Matthew Cutler
Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan
Jade Johnson and Ian Waite
Rav Wilding and Aliona Vilani
Dancing in the second week are:
Natalie Cassidy and Vincent Simone
Richard Dunwoody and Lilia Kopylova
Craig Kelly and Flavia Cacace
Zoe Lucker and James Jordan
Laila Rouass and Anton Du Beke