I'd put Abbey, Sophie and Dave as pretty much confirmed by this point - less sure about Fiona.

According to an article in the Radio Times last year, the producers' only thought during the casting process is to have at least one person in the lineup who will appeal to each member of the "typical family" (so last year it was Michael Vaughan for dads, Kimberley Walsh for teenagers, Johnny Ball for older viewers, etc). Don't know if that helps.

I'd quite like Vanessa - I think she's good fun xD
I can see her being one of the first out though - I know she's not for everyone

Natalie Gumede is now following Strictly Ballroom. Could be a coincidence, but she's also following Natalie Lowe, Lisa Riley and James Jordan!

If I was an agent with a client who was a bit passé, here is what I would do.

1. E-mail the producers of Strictly to say they were "available" and should be considered for the next series.

2. If and when you get a polite e-mail back "thanking for your interest etc etc", get straight onto the tabloids telling them that "Strictly have been in touch"

3. Get client to "follow" some pro's and ex contestants on Twitter or "like" on facebook.

4. Get someone to log onto Digital spy and post threads that the client may have been signed up for Strictly

5. Then get onto major Panto and Reality TV producers stating that Strictly have been in touch and you should sign them up for work post Strictly, before they get fully booked up elsewhere.

Or am I being too cynical ???

I think you are, actually.

Natalie Gumede is hardly a reality TV desperado- she's an award winning actress who's now doing theare work. I don't think she has any need to contact Strictly, and she certainly wouldn't do it to get into panto- if she approached a panto, they'd have her!

I think it's possible that actually some of the people naming ARE genuine.

And are you implying in Post 3 that I work for these celebrity agencies? If so, I must be getting paid a hell of a lot as I've been doing threads like this for three years and have been sharing a great many names!

Ooooh so if Natalie Gumede is still in the frame that's another tall lady celeb that the producers have to try and pair up.

I don't much about her other than what I read on the net about her - she's not a 'desperado', from what I understand she seems to be a successful actress and I think she'll be ideal for Strictly if she does it, but I think she herself was putting herself forward for wanting to do the show earlier this year after she left Corrie and has even said she wants to be paired with Brendan.

She'd be great- and probably a contender!

Would be fun to see Crazy Kirsty dancing, but I guess actually good for her public image as an actress so people start seeing her as Natalie, not as her Corrie character.

I wonder if the Pros look out for the naming of celebs in the papers as intently as we do and go 'oh lordy' or 'wow, I'd like to be pair with him/her'?

Apologies if anyone thinks my post was aimed at any regular DS contributors - it was not.
Just a general observation.

Natalie Gumede is about the most likely celeb mentioned, and is a good standard for Strictly.

There just seem to be so many random names of unlikely celebs put forwards from dubious sources.

I hate to use the words "has-beens" but ...

former Gladiators ???

Tony Jacklin?? he officially retired from the Senior Golf tour in 2004, but had not won anything since 1995, and his last PGA win was in 1982

Yes there were good leaks and naming of celebs for Strictly in the past, but with the demise of phone-hacking and public servants being jailed for selling stories to the tabloids, suddenly the lineup leaks appear to have dried up.
.....Coincidence?

All we have now is PR puff, swallowed up as fact by showbiz journalists who cannot be bothered to do any proper investigation.

I agree with a lot of the names being "random"- and I think in some cases it's self promotion.

Take Peter Andre for example, who despite turning it down, has managed to turn that into a major news story! He's written a column about it and even been a offered a paid interview to talk about why he turned it down.

How do know that Peter Andre "turned it down" ?
Apart from him and "his people" saying he did.

We never EVER hear from the Strictly producers, which (as you say) is a boon for the self -promoters.

I like this suggestion. He comes over well on tv, and I think he'd do quite well.

I'd like to see Natalie take part, she's been rumoured for ages so if she turns out to be correct then she would've been our first proper rumour.

I've never heard of her, but when I googled her name she is described as actress and former dancer. Didn't say what sort of dancing, but I'm sure it would bring her criticism?

Has Natalie actually been named as a possible? If you are just going by who she is following on twitter then I wouldn't put too much store by it because she is a massive Strictly fan anyway. Her leaving do for Corrie was Strictly themed I think. She said she would love to do the show but wasn't sure if this year would be right for her, or she should wait until next year.

Natalie gumede is now following brendan cole

Should we even use the description 'celebrities' in the same sentence as SCD? Seriously?

Maybe 'celebrity' needs a newer definition to fit the sorry parade of scrag end soap 'stars', wannabees and has-beens playing with sequins and ego tripping the hefty (sorry, can't use 'light' here) fantastic?

Oh yeah, I forgot 'retired government people' and ageing golfers.

I actually think of all the reality shows, Strictly manages to get established, successful people to take part!

Really?

Definitely in contention now, I think

Well I think five of the seven ladies are definitely Abbey. Fiona, Natalie, Sophie and Vanessa. We just need a sportswoman in the mix - Rebecca Adlington...? And the seventh could be Teri.

By the way who does everyone think the anuual Eastenders star will be? I would bet it's a male.

Female line-up looking pretty good.
They don't always have a sportswoman, but if they do, I'd like Becky!

Susanna or Teri for the final "Wonan over 40" slot would be nice!

I reckon the EastEnder will be Ricky "Fatboy" Norwood

Larry Lamb, he was in Eastenders.....wasn't he?

Just my opinion, but I am not impressed with that female lineup ^ hope for some surprises. Last seasons female cast was so strong, that those rumors just don't cut it for me. I'll just have to wait and see.

I'm gonna pair them up with the pro's, although i don't believe Rebecca will be in it and the last lady will be a surprise:

Abbey - Aljaz
Fiona - Anton
Natalie - Artem
Sophie - Brendan
Vanessa - Robin
Teri - Pasha

That leaves James.

She probably will get some flak for it but if she handles it well it shouldn't affect her too much - Kara, Tom and Matt Baker seemed to ride through it - they need a few ringers each year and I guess if she does it she'll be one of them.


I think it's also been based on her saying she wanted to take part earlier this year & I've seen similar quotes in the online tabloids too.


http://www.hellomagazine.com/celebri...-this-morning/

So, out of the women rumoured, we have-

A Broadcaster
A Singer
A Model
Three Actresses

The one (if the above six are correct) remaining isn't likely to be an actress- so could be a presenter, a sporty bod or a left field choice.