Strictly Come Dancing 2026: Who's Left, How to Vote, and the Returning Star Who Topped Week 3

Twelve couples, one Glitterball and a front-runner who sat out last week: Strictly's race just got interesting.

Strictly Come Dancing 2026 returns to BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 6.30pm UK time on Saturday, Oct. 24, with 12 couples left, according to the BBC Media Centre. Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon were the latest to leave, after an Icons Week dance-off, BBC Newsround reports. Here's everything you need for Saturday.

Who's left on Strictly 2026

These are the 12 couples still dancing, with pairings from the BBC's official announcement and Icons Week scores from the BBC leaderboard:

• Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby (34)
• Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu (34)
• Will Best and Dianne Buswell (31)
• Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystał (30)
• John Nellis and Katya Jones (29)
• Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola (29)
• Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita (29)
• Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr (28)
• Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley (28)
• Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu (27)
• Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin (25)
• Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington (bye in Icons Week)

Cach and Maddie and Jaime and Carlos shared the top of the Icons Week leaderboard. Jaime's 34 is a glow-up worth celebrating: she and Carlos were in the Movie Week dance-off just two weeks earlier, per the BBC.

The twist: the Week 3 leader is coming back

Delta Goodrem received a bye through Icons Week because of an injury, and the Australian singer is set to return this week, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Here's why that matters: before her injury, Delta was the couple to beat. According to the BBC leaderboards, she and Kai topped Week 3 with 33 points and had the highest combined score from Week 1 and Movie Week, with 59. Everyone else just had a week to catch up. Saturday's leaderboard could look very different.

Who has left so far

• Movie Week: Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden, after a dance-off against Jaime and Carlos (BBC)
• Week 3: Melanie Walters and Aljaž Škorjanec, after a dance-off against Shaun and Alexis (BBC)
• Icons Week: Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon, after a dance-off against Bethany and Nancy. Head judge Shirley Ballas had the deciding vote but wasn't needed, as the other three judges all saved Bethany and Nancy (Newsround)

Read our story on Dame Sarah Storey's sweet Strictly farewell.

How to vote on Strictly Come Dancing

The BBC's official voting info lays it out:

• Where: online only, at bbc.co.uk/strictly, or by scanning the QR code shown on screen during the show.
• Account: you must be signed in to a BBC account. Registering is free at bbc.com/register, so sign in before the vote opens.
• How many: up to 5 votes per voting window, rising to 8 in the final. Pick couples with the + button, then press "Submit X Votes." Once submitted, votes can't be changed.
• Cost: voting online is free, though normal data charges may apply.
• Who: viewers in the UK, Channel Islands and Isle of Man only.
• Not allowed: no phone, text, email or red-button votes, and no voting through the iPlayer app. If you're watching on catch-up, the BBC says not to vote, as the vote may have closed.

Judges' scores and the public vote are each turned into points and added together, and the bottom two face the dance-off.

Who's judging and hosting

Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke are the judges. Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe host, the first time the show has had three presenters, per the BBC.

Dates for your diary

The BBC lists Halloween Week on Oct. 31, Blackpool on Nov. 21 and Musicals Week on Dec. 5. For extra Strictly, It Takes Two airs weeknights from 6.30pm on BBC Two and iPlayer, and Strictly: Lights Up drops on iPlayer right after each Sunday results show.

Get your BBC account ready. Saturday is going to be a big one.

Across the pond, ballroom fans can also catch up on Dancing With the Stars Dedication Night.