Strictly 2026 fans have already picked out this year’s potential finalists – despite the series only just getting started!
The 15 new celebrities discovered their professional partners during tonight’s launch show, and some pairings have already sent fans into a frenzy.
Vito and Lacey are favourites (Credit: BBC)
Strictly 2026 pairings revealed
Tonight’s show saw the celebrities discover who they’d be partnered with for the new series (Saturday, September 19).
This year has brought a brand new twist, with the celebrities and professional dancers finding out their pairings while they were actually dancing.
The stars and their pros took part in a routine together, swapping partners several times along the way. During breaks in the dance, the hosts then revealed which celebrity would be paired with which professional.
The new format certainly went down well with fans, who were particularly excited by a couple of the pairings.
In fact, some viewers have wasted no time in predicting that they’ll make it all the way to the final.
Lacey Turner predicted to be in this year’s final
During the routine, EastEnders star Lacey Turner discovered she’d be dancing with Vito Coppola, who previously won the show in 2022.
Fans were quick to get excited about the pairing, with several already predicting that Lacey and Vito could be among this year’s finalists.
“I think I’ve found my first 2 finalists already, and it’s only the launch show,” one fan tweeted, alongside a picture of Lacey, Vito, as well as Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin.
“Go Lacey and Vito, hopefully another strong partnership,” another said. “Lacey Turner for the mf win!” a third wrote.
“MOTHER LACEY SHE’S TAKING THE WHOLE THING,” another fan gushed.
“Manifesting Lacey & Vito as #strictly winners 2026,” a fifth said. “Winners. No doubt about it,” another added. “OUR WINNERS OF SCD 2026 RIGHT HERE! TEAM LITO ALL THE WAY!,” another wrote.
Fans predict Graeme Hall out first
Meanwhile, Graeme Hall has already found himself on the other end of fan predictions, with some viewers tipping him to be the first celebrity eliminated from this year’s series.
Fans were particularly gutted for popular professional dancer Lauren Oakley, who was paired with Graeme during tonight’s show.
“Oh god POOR LAUREN,” one fan tweeted.
“Poor Lauren out the first week,” another said.
“So we aren’t gonna see much of Lauren or Alexis [Warr] this year it seems,” a third wrote, after Lauren was paired with Graham and Alexis with Shaun Wright-Phillips.
“Think they may have done Lauren bad this year,” another added. However, not everyone was writing the partnership off.
“Graeme didn’t suck! So there is hope for Lauren to go a little further this year,” one fan said.
“Graeme and Lauren are FAB!!!” another wrote.
Read more: Strictly fans deliver their verdict on new pairings twist: “Pure chaos!”
Strictly continues next Saturday (September 26) from 6.15pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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