Strictly come dancing 2009

The brand spanking new series of Strictly Come Dancing is upon us and it's packed with more excitement potential than you can stuff in a sequin and glitter spandex cat-suit! Waltz this way to get up to speed with this year's contestants...

The brand spanking new series of Strictly Come Dancing is upon us and it's packed with more excitement potential than you can stuff in a sequin and glitter spandex cat-suit! Waltz this way to get up to speed with this year's contestants...

Joe Calzaghe

Rrrrr! Now here's a man who could protect you. Boxing world champion Joe, nicknamed the 'Italian dragon' because of his mixed Welsh and Italian heritage, is 5ft 11ins of pure man. He retired, undefeated, earlier this year and stepped up from MBE to CBE appointment in 2008.

Joe's dance partner is Kristina Rihanoff who danced with controversy last year making her debut to the show with popular but hopeless John Sergeant.

Chance of winning: tough call. A beefcake like Calzaghe might not seem particularly graceful but he's no stranger to footwork and we reckon he could be pretty light on his feet. One to watch, this Italian stallion could be our dark horse!

Sex appeal: 3 stars. Don'cha-cha wish your boyfriend was hot like him?
Lynda Bellingham

Oh, we do love outspoken Lynda! She became part of the family as Oxo mum for 16 years, has starred in a string of hit TV shows and is currently treading the boards in the West End's Calendar Girls, she is also a panelist on ITV chat show Loose Women.

Lynda's dance partner is 32-year-old Darren Bennett who won series two with Jill Halfpenny.

Chance of winning: Slim. Lynda is an elegant woman and we don't doubt she could work the Waltz, but we wonder if she has the vigour and pep to pull-off a Quickstep.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Darren is a hot young thing, but he's married to fellow Strictly dancer Lilia Kopylova, and we don't envisage much sexual tension with Lynda.
Martina Hingis

Female sports stars don't usually do it for us, but Martina is actually rather interesting. Hingis is known for being outspoken and her loud mouth has delivered her some fierce rivalry in her Tennis career. In 2007, Hingis caused controversy after a drug test taken during Wimbledon showed positive for cocaine.

Martina's dance partner is blonde Essex boy Matthew Cutler, who won series 5 with Alesha Dixon.

Chance of winning: Fair. Martina's a strong woman and we don't doubt she'll be mercilessly competitive, but can she follow Matthew's lead or will her feistiness grand-slam her out of the contest?

Sex appeal: 2 stars. We don't imagine things getting very hot between Hingis and Cutler, but there's always the chance of some surprise sexual tension.
Natalie Cassidy

We loved her as Sonia for so many years, since leaving Eastenders in 2007 she has undertaken theatre work including The Vagina Monologues and presented several documentaries.

Natalie has received press attention because of her yo-yoing figure; in 2007 she slimmed-down and released a best-selling fitness DVD, but old habits die hard and it wasn't long before Nat was piling on the pounds again. Strictly should keep her on her toes, but we have to say, uber-slim wasn't her look anyway!

Natalie will be dancing with smouldering Italian Vincent Simone.

Chance of winning: Slim. Natalie could surprise us and go far in the competition, but we just don't see her making the final.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Vince got us going when he wooed Rachel Stevens to the final last season, but we don't see it happening with Nat.
Rav Wilding

Policeman turned pin-up, Crimewatch presenter Rav can bust crime but can he bust a move on the dance floor? If only all policemen looked like this, we'd be begging to get mugged!

With brains as well as brawn, Wilding won Celebrity Weakest Link in 2008 and brought heat to the kitchen to win Celebrity Ready Steady Cook that same year.

Rav's dance partner is sexy Strictly debutante Aliona Vilani.

Chance of winning: Strong. Rav's clearly a competitive guy and we suspect he's got a soft and tender side which could come in handy on those slow numbers.

Sex appeal: 3 stars. Rav gets our engines revving!
Jade Johnson

Long-jump athlete Jade is turning her hand to dancing before she begins training for the 2012 Olympics.

Jade is famous for wearing colourful fishnet stockings while jumping. And something which started as a bet has now become a superstition, with Jade claiming she jumps badly without them. We wonder, will this superstition stretch to the dance floor?

Jade will be dancing with Ian Waite who has previously been partnered with another athlete, Denise Lewis, reaching second place.

Chance of winning: Strong. Athletes can struggle to look graceful on the dancefloor, but if Ian can taste success with Denise Lewis, there's no reason why he can't do the same with Jade.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Female athletes are not sexy. Fact.
Ricky Whittle

Better known as Hollyoaks' Calvin Valentine, Ricky's sure to steal a few hearts on Strictly and he's already caused controversy.

There are suggestions that his appearance on BBC's Let's Dance for Comic Relief earlier this year may have given him an unfair advantage. But do we really care about that? What's really got us going is his longstanding feud with fellow Strictly star Zoe Lucker...

Competition alert: Ricky made it to the final of Celebrity Weakest Link in 2008, but lost to fellow Strictly hunk Rav Wilding... Strictly spells round two for the sexy pair: this time, it's personal.

Dancing with Ricky is Natalie Lowe, it's her first time on Strictly but she has appeared in five series of Australia's Dancing With The Stars.

Chance of winning: Strong. Ricky claims he loves dancing and we think he's got the strength to lead while his acting will allow for some empathetic tenderness in the slowies. As the judges whittle-down the contestants, Ricky could go far.

Sex appeal: 3 stars. Bring-on the spandex!
Chris Hollins

Ever since Natasha Kaplinsky's memorable turn in the first series of Strictly Come Dancing, which she won with Brendan Cole, we've hungered for more straight-laced BBC newsreaders to let their hair down. Enter Chris Hollins, sport presenter for BBC Breakfast News.

You may have seen Chris dance before in one of the BBC News team's annual cringe-fests for Children In Need. But will he follow in John Sergeant's awkward footsteps and prove to be this season's charity case?

Chris will be dancing with Polish beauty Ola Jordan, wife of fellow Strictly dancer James Jordan.

Chance of winning: Slim. We just don't see Chris winning, though we're sure he'll be a good sport.

Sex appeal: 1 star. That's hardly news...
Craig Kelly

Kelly shot to fame playing Vince Taylor in controversial Ch4 series Queer as Folk. He's since appeared in a number of popular TV shows and currently stars in Coronation Street as UnderWorld boss Luke Strong.

If you don't recognise his face, there's a good chance you've heard his voice as Craig is a popular voice-over artist on both adverts and documentaries. But actions speak louder than words, especially on the dancefloor.

Craig will be dancing with Flavia Cacace who danced into second place with Matt Di Angelo in series 5.

Chance of winning: Fair. Craig has the cheeky northern charm to sweep the judges of their feet.

Sex appeal: 3 stars. Craig's a cutie.
Ali Bastian

Ali first caught our attention in Hollyoaks as sensible schoolmistress Becca Dean who found herself in deep water when she fell for student Justin Burton.

In 2007, Ali swapped the fake tans and short skirts of Hollyoaks for the standard issue white shirt and black trousers of ITV police drama The Bill, where she plays PC Sally Armstrong.

Ali will be dancing with LA-based Brian Fortuna, who made his debut last year with M People's Heather Small.

Chance of success: Fair. Ali's got elegance and grace, and we can see her doing some beautiful slowies, but has she got the fire for the latin dances?

Sex appeal: 2 stars. We like watching Brian...
Richard Dunwoody

MBE and three time champion jockey Richard was at the forefront of English National Hunt racing in the '80s and '90s, so he might have to update his idea of the Foxtrot. He's trekked to the South Pole for charity but how far will he go to take home the much coveted Strictly winner's trophy?

Richard's partner is Lilia Kopylova, a strong player in the Strictly stakes, she won series 3 with Darren Gough and the pair went on to win the Christmas trophy too.

Chance of winning: Moderate. Jive got a feeling Richard will be light on his feet, but has he got the passion for a tango?

Sex appeal: 1 star... Maybe 2, he could turn out to be a bit of a silver fox.
Laila Rouass

You may remember Laila from trashy ITV drama Footballers' Wives, in which she played scheming Amber Gates. Laila now stars in another ITV show, Sci-Fi hit Primeval, playing strong-willed archaeologist Sarah Page.

Laila's Footballers' Wives co-star Zoe Lucker is a fellow Strictly contender, will their on-screen rivalry spill on to the dance-floor?

Laila will be dancing with Strictly Come Dancing veteran, the ever so charismatic Anton Du Beke.

Chance of success: Strong. Laila has the classic combination of elegance and fervour.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Laila's lovely but we don't see sparks between her and Anton.
Ricky Groves

Ricky plays cheeky boy Garry on Eastenders and is married to former co-star Hannah Waterman, daughter of Minder's Dennis Waterman.

Apparently, taking part in Strictly is a dream come true for Ricky, who was seduced by dance after watching John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever.

Ricky's dance partner is Erin Boag, another Strictly veteran and professional partner of Anton Du Beke.

Chance of winning: Slim. We don't hold out much hope for this 'Enders contender.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Gaz-from-the-garage is more grease monkey than grease lightnin'.
Zoe Lucker

She stole the show as mean and manipulative Tanya Tucker in Footballers' Wives, and her arch nemesis was Amber, played by fellow Strictly competitor Laila Rouass.

But there's another potential rivalry that's really grabbing our attention: when Ricky Whittle starred in Dream Team, filmed in the same place as Footballers' Wives, he named Zoe as his most hated celebrity, branding her a "stuck-up cow" after she once snubbed him. When she apparently tried it on with him in a bar, he saw the opportunity for pay back, and blanked her... juicy!

Zoe will be dancing with sexy and suave James Jordan, who last year made it to week 9 with Cherie Lunghi.

Chance of winning: Fair. This mean girl means business, but competition is fierce.

Sex appeal: 1 star. Lucker lucked-out with looker James, but we don't imagine this will be a sexy partnership.
Phil Tufnell

Oh Phil, you lovable rogue! While we are impressed by your cricketing days and aptitude at spin-bowling, we're really just ruddy grateful to have you on our TV screens!

Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell won the 2003 series of I'm a Celebrity... and we're looking forward to him adding some natural sparkle to Strictly.

Phil is partnered with Strictly newcomer Katya Virshilas, at just 25 years old Katya has an impressive and glamourous dance career, having choreographed for Hollywood and Bollywood.

Chance of winning: Slim. We will enjoy watching Phil's antics and back-chat, but we don't see him being a great dancer.

Sex appeal: 2 stars. He's no hunk, but he's tuff-enough for us!
Jo Wood

Now here's an interesting one. Former model and queen of Organic living Jo has received quite a bit of press attention of late after her husband of 23 years, Rolling Stones' Ronnie Wood rolled on into the arms of a young Russian cocktail waitress.

In the throes of a painful divorce, Jo has been paired with Brendan Cole, who she has dubbed "the bad boy of ballroom." Anyone who knows anything about Strictly knows Brendan is a real task master and controversial character. The series hasn't even started and photos of Jo tearfully shouting at Brendan have hit the papers, with speculation that Brendan may be putting the rock chick under too much pressure.

Needless to say, this is a particularly exciting partnership which we will be watching very, very closely...

Chance of winning: Fair. Brendan will push Jo and get the best out of her, and we've no doubt this lady can shake her booty, but we wonder if she can pull out one of those show-stealing performances.

Sex appeal: 2 stars. Expect chemistry.