Former Strictly Come Dancing Star Dan Walker Is Not Here For Anyone Slating This Year's Line-Up

"I will never get my head around the ‘never heard of them’ crew."
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Dan Walker in his official Strictly photo last year
Ray Burmiston via PA Media

Strictly Come Dancing alum Dan Walker has a message for anyone slating the show’s celebrity line-up.

The former BBC Breakfast host was one of the stars of last year’s series, and made it through to the quarter-finals.

With the celebrity announcements for the upcoming 20th series now underway, Dan has shot down anyone criticising the show’s star bookings.

“Will never get my head around the ‘never heard of them’ crew when you see someone announced on Strictly who you don’t know much about,” he tweeted on Saturday. 

“Get on Google, learn a bit about them. Looking forward to seeing the full set of this year’s bunch.”

Of course, Dan knows a thing or two about fending off detractors when it comes to Strictly.

He was met with more than his share of backlash during last year’s run when he and his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova kept evading the dance-off, despite repeatedly coming in at the bottom of the leaderboard.

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Dan and Nadiya performing during last year's series
Guy Levy/BBC via PA Media

So far, the BBC has confirmed six of the celebrity contestants hitting the Strictly dance floor when the show returns to our screens later this year, with Will Mellor and Kym Marsh being the first to be announced.

In the days since, Radio 2 presenter Richie Anderson, Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams, stand-up comedian Jayde Adams and Paralympic gold medallist Ellie Simmonds have also been unveiled, with more to come in the days ahead.