Olympic gold medallist Tabby Stoecker has been announced as the 13th celebrity contestant for the 2026 series of Strictly Come Dancing [3].
The addition of a current Olympic champion brings high-profile athletic prestige to the BBC One competition as it prepares for its autumn return. Stoecker's transition from the high-speed ice track to the ballroom represents a significant casting draw for the 24th season [4].
Stoecker, 25, is a British skeleton racer who won a gold medal during the 2026 Winter Olympic Games [1, 2]. The athlete said the experience of joining the popular dance programme was "surreal" [2].
She joins a growing roster of celebrities for the upcoming edition of the show. The production is continuing to unveil its lineup for the 2026 series, which typically pairs public figures with professional dancers in a rigorous weekly competition [5].
Stoecker's participation follows her success at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games [2]. While known for the precision and speed of skeleton racing, she now faces the challenge of learning ballroom, and Latin dance styles under the scrutiny of the show's judges [2, 6].
The competition will air on BBC One in the United Kingdom [6]. This season marks the 24th time the show has returned to screens, maintaining its position as one of the most-watched reality competitions in the country [4].
“"It's surreal."”
The casting of Tabby Stoecker leverages the immediate post-Olympic momentum of the 2026 Winter Games to drive viewership. By integrating a gold medallist into the 24th season, the BBC aims to capture a demographic of sports fans and celebrate recent British athletic achievement within a mainstream entertainment format.
