Dani Dyer to return to Strictly after ankle injury forced exit

Dani Dyer is rejoining Strictly Come Dancing a year after a broken ankle in training forced her to withdraw before the competition began.

Dani Dyer will return to Strictly Come Dancing a year after a broken ankle forced her out of the BBC show before the competition had properly begun.

The TV and social media personality has been announced for the 24th series, expected to start in September. Dyer appeared in last year’s launch episode but withdrew after she was injured in rehearsals with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.

“I am so excited to be back in the ballroom this September!” Dyer said in a statement. “I just cannot wait to get my dancing shoes back on and hopefully this time around I can actually make it to week one!”

Dyer, 29, first became widely known after winning Love Island in 2018. She fractured her ankle last year after what was described as landing awkwardly during training, and was replaced by actress Amber Davies, another former Love Island winner, who later reached the Strictly final.

Her return adds an early twist to this year’s line-up announcements, which have begun earlier than usual. EastEnders actress Lacey Turner was named as the first celebrity on Wednesday, saying in an Instagram video that she was “so excited and so terrified at the same time” to take part.

The new series will also mark a broader refresh for Strictly . Josh Widdicombe, Emma Willis and Johannes Radebe are due to present following the departures of longtime hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Head judge Shirley Ballas, speaking on ITV’s Good Morning Britain , said she was “very excited” to see what the new trio bring to the programme.

Ballas will return to the judging panel alongside Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke. Several professional dancers, including Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk, Karen Hauer and Michelle Tsiakkas, will not be back this year, while regulars including Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell, Katya Jones, Vito Coppola and Aljaz Skorjanec are set to return.

Dyer’s casting means viewers will get to see whether her postponed Strictly run can finally begin on the dance floor when the series launches later this year.