BBC One's hit autumnal dance show Strictly Come Dancing returns to our screens later this month with 15 celebrities set to battle it out for the iconic Glitterball.
The 20th season of the show gets underway on Friday 23rd September with the launch show, while the first live show of the series takes place on Saturday 24th September.
Last year's series was won by actress Rose Ayling-Ellis - the show's first ever deaf contestant - and professional partner Giovanni Pernice.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke will once again make up the judging panel and the show is set to feature favourite themed weeks such as Movie Week and Musicals Week, while Blackpool Week is also going to make a return and there will reportedly be a week dedicated to the centenary of the BBC.
| What | Strictly Come Dancing 2022 |
| Where | Elstree Film and Television Studios, Borehamwood |
| When | Friday 23rd September 2022 |
| How to watch | BBC One |
| Odds | Helen Skelton (7/2), Fleur East (7/2), Will Mellor (13/2), Matt Goss (15/2), Ellie Simmonds (8/1) |
Skelton and East are the ones to beat
The line-up for this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing was confirmed last month and the last celebrity to be announced is also considered among those most likely to lift the Glitterball.
Countryfile presenter Helen Skelton, who has also previously fronted Blue Peter and Newsround, is 7/2 to win this year's show and it is easy to see why.
Skelton rarely shies away from a challenge, having previously appeared on Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins, and she already has Strictly Come Dancing experience to her name, having been a contestant in the 2012 Christmas special.
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That should stand her in good stead and the 39-year-old can take confidence from the fact that five of the previous 19 winners have been TV presenters or journalists - only actors and actresses have had more success on the show.
Another candidate with plenty of potential is radio presenter and singer-songwriter Fleur East, who can also be backed at 7/2 to come out on top.
East was runner-up on hit ITV show The X Factor in 2014 and four years later she came fourth on I'm A Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here and will be hoping to translate some of what she showed on those shows to the dancefloor.
Speaking ahead of the new series, East claimed her late father was a big fan of the show and that is sure to act as added motivation for the 34-year-old.
Mellor bids to become 12th male winner
Also fairly high up in the betting is actor Will Mellor, who has previously appeared in the likes of Hollyoaks, Casualty and Coronation Street.
Having reached number five in the UK singles chart with When I Need You in 1998, Mellor is no stranger to performing and signed up for the show in a bid to start doing more things that frighten him.
Eleven of the previous 19 winners of Strictly Come Dancing have been male and Mellor is considered the most likely of this year's men to win the series at 13/2.
There have been two singers and two musicians to win Strictly Come Dancing and Matt Goss, former lead singer of pop group Bros, will also be hoping to add his name to that list. He is 15/2 to win the 20th edition of the show.
Simmonds one of two sportspeople competing in this year's series
Paralympic swimming gold medallist Ellie Simmonds knows a thing or two about winning and can be backed at 8/1 to win this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing.
Simmonds, who was named BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year in 2013, is bidding to become the fourth sportsperson to win the show after former gymnast Louis Smith and former cricketers Mark Ramprakash and Darren Gough.
The other sportsperson involved in this year's series is former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams. The footballing legend is considered an outsider to win the series at 40/1.
The most recent Strictly winner Ayling-Ellis was best known for her time on Eastenders and this year's series features two contestants known for their time on British soaps with Kym Marsh, formerly of Coronation Street, 16/1 in the outright betting and James Bye, who plays Martin Fowler in Eastenders, 28/1.
Completing the line-up for the 2022 edition of Strictly Come Dancing are CBBC star Molly Rainford (12/1), radio presenter Tyler West (12/1), comedy talents Jayde Adams (20/1) and Ellie Taylor (22/1), presenter Richie Anderson (16/1), cameraman Hamza Yassin (33/1) and Loose Women presenter Kaye Adams (50/1).
