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Presenters

• Sir Bruce Forsyth

  

  Strictly Come Dancing welcomes the legendary Sir Bruce Forsyth back to co-present the ninth series. An all-round entertainer, loved by the nation, Bruce became a household name through shows including Sunday Night at the London Palladium and The Generation Game.

  From a young age, Sir Bruce was inspired to learn to dance by watching Fred Astaire films and continued to perform on stage throughout his childhood. He has performed with a variety of established individuals such as Julie Andrews and Sammy Davis Jr.

  Throughout his career, Sir Bruce has been awarded a multitude of awards, including a Royal Television Society Lifetime Achievement Award, a C.B.E and an O.B.E. Earlier this year, he received a knighthood in the Queens Birthday honours after almost 70 years in entertainment.

• Tess Daly

  

  Sassy presenter Tess Daly has stood side by side with Sir Bruce Forsyth from the very beginning, and brings an extra touch of glamour and elegance to the show.

  After working around the world as a model, Tess moved on to present shows including Children in Need and the Royal Variety Performance. In 2008, she won a special version of Strictly Come Dancing against Terry Wogan, where she was partnered with a delighted Anton du Beke.

  Brought up in Derbyshire, Tess is no stranger to dancing, having been encouraged by her family to take up ballroom as a young child.

• Zoe Ball

  

  Popular radio and television presenter Zoe Ball returns to the Strictly Come Dancing team picking up the reigns from Claudia to present the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Two weekday sister show, It Takes Two.

  After presenting the much-lauded Live & Kicking, in 1999 Zoe became the first woman to front the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 1 Breakfast Show solo and has since fronted a number of shows, including the BRIT Awards, The Priory, Strictly Dance Fever and Sky Art's Summer Festivals. Zoe is also an established radio presenter and currently hosts the Radio 2 Weekend Breakfast Show on Saturdays.

  A former Strictly contestant, Zoe has first hand experience of the show and has also presented the Strictly Come Dancing Tour. With all her dancing knowledge and presenting talent, the audience is in safe hands.

• Claudia Winkleman

  

  Following the birth of her third child in July, former It Takes Two presenter Claudia Winkleman is handing over the reigns of Strictly's sister show to Zoe Ball this series, but she will once again be joining Tess to co-host the Sunday night results show.

  The Cambridge graduate is a renowned television and radio presenter who, as well as being the host of ´óÏó´«Ã½ One's Film 2011, also presents a weekly Radio 2 series, The Arts Show With Claudia Winkleman on Friday evenings. She's also a journalist with regular contributions to The Independent and London's Evening Standard.

Judges

• Len Goodman

  

  Head judge Len Goodman is a renowned figure in the world of dance and as a former professional dancer, Exhibition British Champion and professional judge on and off screen, he brings a wealth of expertise and experience to the panel.

  Starting his dancing career at the late age of 19, Len developed fast and his career soon flourished. He specialised in a form of ballroom dancing called Exhibition dancing, which is all about the lifts and he quickly became a British champion, winning the title four times.

  Len has also set up a dance school in Dartford, Kent, which he still runs today and when he eventually hung up his dancing shoes he became a dance teacher, before making the jump to professional judge.

  Len now splits his time between London and Los Angeles, filming both Strictly Come Dancing and its American equivalent, Dancing With The Stars.

• Alesha Dixon

  

  Former Strictly champion Alesha Dixon takes her place back on the panel for the third year.

  Alesha first found fame with girl group Mis-Teeq, securing a MOBO award and BRIT nomination. After six years together the band went their separate ways to work on solo projects, which saw Alesha release her debut album and secure two top ten hits with The Boy Does Nothing and Breathe.

  Alesha became a favourite with the Strictly audience and judges in series five, when she took to the dancefloor with partner Matthew Cutler, going all the way to beat Matt Di Angelo in the final. She's experienced the show first hand and always has some helpful tips for the new celebrities.

• Craig Revel Horwood

  

  Dancer, choreographer and theatre director Craig Revel Horwood returns to Strictly with his hard-to-please ways and straight talking comments.

  Craig started his career as a dancer in Melbourne, Australia, appearing on stage in a number of productions. His dancing has taken him all over the world and as an experienced performer, he has featured in shows including Cats, Miss Saignon and Crazy For You. He won a prestigious Olivier award for his work on West End musical Spend, Spend, Spend.

  As well as Strictly, Craig is ever busy choreographing and directing new stage projects and sits on the judging panel for the New Zealand version of Strictly Come Dancing, alongside professional dancer Brendan Cole.

• Bruno Tonioli

  

  Flamboyant Bruno will take his seat on the judging panel on this years Strictly Come Dancing for his ninth consecutive series.

  Former dancer and highly respected choreographer, Bruno left Italy at the age of 18 and after two years with the Paris-based dance company La Grande Eugene, Bruno performed in London and decided to make the city his home. Throughout his career, he has worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Elton John, Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury and Tina Turner.

  Bruno splits his time between London and Los Angeles to record Strictly Come Dancing and Dancing With The Stars.