There were some surprises when the BBC press office shared the list of Strictly Come Dancing professionals for this year’s series.
Hot off the heels of Russian dancer Pasha Kovalev’s decision to depart the show, viewers were thrilled to learn last year’s winner Kevin Clifton - who took the Glitterball trophy with his celebrity partner Stacey Dooley - was returning.
Favourites Giovanni Pernice and Gorka Marquez will also be coming back to the hit TV show, along with Dianne Buswell, Oti Mabuse, Karen Clifton, Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara.
In fact, the only one missing from last year’s line-up was Pasha, but the BBC have yet to replace him.
But while fans speculate over what’s coming next with the professional dancers’ teams, 58-year-old Shirley shared a completely unexpected detail about the next announcement.
The Queen of Latin appeared on BBC Breakfast to chat to presenters Dan Walker and Louise Minchin today, soon after her return from Comic Relief’s celebrity challenge to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
Asked if she’d been preparing for the next series - which also features judges Dame Darcey Bussell, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli - Shirley explained how excited she’s getting for the next run.
“Are you already thinking about Strictly - the pros were announced yesterday?”
