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The full line up of judges and professional dancers for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing have been confirmed after angering BBC bosses in a row over pay rises.
Despite the dispute, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas will all return to the judging panel when the show returns.
They are said to have backed down on their demands for a 11 percent pay rise.
Presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will also be back in the ballroom overseeing proceedings each weekend.
Fans of the show will see familiar faces on the dancefloor, with nearly the same line-up of professional dancers returning – however there is one star who won’t be returning.
Confirmed: The full line up of judges and professional dancers for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing have been confirmed after angering BBC bosses in a row over pay rises
Coming soon: Dianne Buswell, Gorka Marquez, Karen Hauer,Luba Mushtuk, Kai Widdrington, Nadiya Bychkova, Neil Jones, Katya Jones and Graziano Di Prima will return to the dancefloor
Cameron Lombard has quit the show two years after joining and performing in the ensemble.
A Strictly spokesperson told MailOnline: ‘Cameron is a fantastic performer and we have loved working with him for the past two years on Strictly.
‘He is currently pursuing other opportunities but will always be part of the family and our door will always be open to him in the future.’
Cameron started competing aged six and has won 18 national titles across Ballroom and Latin during his decorated dance career.
When he joined the line-up he called it a ‘life changing opportunity’, saying: ‘Not only is this a dream come true but a challenge I am accepting with both hands.’
Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Nancy Xu, Lauren Oakley and Michelle Tsiakkas make up the team of girls.
For the boys it’s Graziano Di Prima, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Giovanni Pernice, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Carlos Gu and Vita Coppola.
It is yet to be confirmed who will dance with celebrity partners and who will be in the ensemble.
In addition to all this, Dave Arch and his wonderful band will once again provide the soundtrack to Saturday and Sunday nights all across the UK.
The celebrity contestants will not be announced until later in the year and the show is expected to return in the Autumn.
Bye: Cameron Lombard has quit the show two years after joining, with a spokesperson saying ‘He will always be part of the family and our door will always be open to him in the future’
Sarah James, Executive Producer at BBC Studios said: ‘Excitement is already building for the 21st series of Strictly and we are so lucky to have the best team in the business both on and off camera.
‘Our amazing presenters, incredible panel of judges and world class professional dancers are ready to bring the sparkle back to your screens this Autumn. We can’t wait!’
The announcement comes after the Strictly judges reportedly backed down in their bid to receive an 11 per cent salary rise ahead of the BBC dance competition show‘s new season.
According to The Sun they have now accepted an offer of between 3 and 5 per cent.
Head judge Shirley is reportedly already earning £500,000, Motsi and Craig rake in £200,000, while Anton is believed to be on £180,000.
A source told the publication ‘There was a real stand off between the judges and the Beeb on this issue, with neither side willing to budge for weeks.
‘Thankfully they reached this resolution and are now breathing a sigh of relief and able to look forward to the new series.
‘The show simply felt that curing a cost of living crisis, and at a time when the licence fee has been frozen, they couldn’t justify an 11 per cent rise.’
The insider added that those involved with the show began to feel like the pay row was becoming a distraction from the upcoming 21st series this autumn.
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The BBC has been contacted by MailOnline for comment on the matter.
It comes after the show’s professional dancers reportedly slammed the judges for demanding a huge pay rise.
Despite training for long hours, the dancers – who include Giovanni Pernice, Dianne Buswell and Johannes Radebe – are paid flat fees of around £35,000 for their work on the programme.
The dancers apparently took to their group chat on WhatsApp in the wake of the news to slam the judges and are also considering asking for a pay rise.
BBC bosses were also ‘incandescent with anger’ after the demand for a salary increase.
Agreement: They have now accepted an offer of between 3 and 5 per cent
A BBC source told the Daily Mail: ‘While there is always some negotiation that goes on when new contracts are signed each year, this is something else.
‘Their jobs are some of the very best on television and they are already very well remunerated for their work so when these negotiations began this time around, there was shock and anger.
‘It is also not like they spend any other time working behind the scenes like the professional dancers. They turn up, get their make up done and go in front of the camera.
‘The professional dancers work tirelessly for weeks on end and they work themselves to the bone for the smidgen of what the judges already earn, let alone what they want to earn.
‘You would think that they would be aware that they work for the BBC and that they are essentially paid for by the British public through the licence fee.’
MailOnline contacted representatives for Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke, and BBC spokespeople for further comment at the time.
This came after Shirley was reportedly given a ‘take it or leave it’ deal by Strictly bosses to stay on the show, after she revealed she may quit over online trolling.
The head judge and Latin expert was subjected to much criticism last year in which trolls slammed her decisions and accused her of ageism and sexism.
But despite previously threatening to quit, Shirley has been in talks with bosses over a potential return to Strictly, revealing on the Jonathan Ross show on Sunday that ‘their people are talking to my people’.
Shirley joined the judging panel as head judge in 2017, following the departure of Len Goodman.
Shirley recently hinted that she may not return to Strictly Come Dancing this year following the torrent of vile online abuse she received during the last series.
Negotiations: This comes after Shirley was reportedly given a ‘take it or leave it’ deal by Strictly bosses to stay on the show, after she revealed she may quit over online trolling
In a candid interview, she indicated the previous series may have been her last as she’d hit an ‘all-time low’ after the abuse ‘snowballed out of control’.
The ballroom dancer told how she was constantly left in tears after every show and struggled in silence, telling how it was ‘the most negativity’ she had ever faced.
She told the Mirror: ‘Last year I was struggling. It wasn’t just a little bit, it was a lot – the majority of it was in silence. I felt the abuse snowballed out of control and impacted me in such a negative way. I’m a pretty stoic person, and I tend to hold everything in.’
She explained that when the abuse began, it seemed ‘larger than anything else’, with the star telling how it left her ‘crying and emotional’, while she was ’embarrassed’ about how she felt and didn’t confide in anyone.
