Strictly Come Dancing Faces Judging Panel Uncertainty as Contracts Near Renewal

Strictly Come Dancing’s next major cast question sits at the judges’ desk. The BBC show has changed its hosting team and lost several professional dancers, while Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke have remained in place. Their contracts are now approaching renewal, and reports suggest the panel’s future may become clearer only after the current run ends in December.

That uncertainty matters because the judging panel has been one of the few familiar features in a season of substantial change. Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe have taken over hosting duties from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. The professional line-up has also been refreshed: Karen Hauer, the longest-serving female professional at 14 years, Gorka Marquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas have all departed.

A report in the Daily Mail says the judges’ existing contracts gave producers some continuity this year. An unnamed source told the paper that the panel’s return had been “one less headache” for the team, but that expiring deals could leave each judge free to decide whether to continue.

Renegotiation is the immediate pressure point. The report says producers may face a different outcome if a judge dislikes the terms on offer, with December described as the moment when the picture could become clearer. It names Shirley Ballas as the likeliest possible departure, citing her decade on the show and her reported wish to spend more time with her grandchildren. That remains speculation: Ballas and the other judges have not indicated that they intend to leave.

Ballas joined Strictly in 2017, replacing Len Goodman. Her family commitments have prompted previous speculation about whether she might step away, while her son Mark Ballas, 40, is a professional dancer on the US version, Dancing With the Stars. Those details offer context for the report’s suggestion, but they don’t establish that she has made a decision about her future on the BBC programme.

The coverage also revisits Ballas’s friendship with Italian dancer Giuseppe Nonnis, 36, and the attention it drew after she judged a dance event in which he competed. Her scores prompted questions in parts of the dance community, but a later report said no rules had been broken. Nonnis and his partner Lela finished ninth. His former fiancée, Daria Chesnokova, also spoke publicly about the pair’s closeness; she and Nonnis had been engaged since 2021 before their split last year. The personal speculation has generated headlines, but the reported contract negotiations remain the more direct factor in Strictly’s next panel decision.

Craig Revel Horwood’s future also warrants attention. He is the panel’s longest-serving member, having joined Strictly at its debut in 2004. On his podcast, Judgemental, he said he had been questioning whether to continue in show business or retire somewhere quieter and out of public view. He previously expected to stop working at 50, but has since moved that personal target to 70.

Horwood’s comments describe a question he is weighing, not a confirmed exit from Strictly. That distinction is important for a programme whose current refresh has already altered both the hosting trio and the professional roster. The judges have supplied a stable link across those changes; losing even one would give producers another prominent role to reshape, while a full panel renewal would mark a much larger break with the show’s recent identity.

For now, the lineup remains intact, and the reports point to contract talks rather than a settled departure. December is the stated window to watch: by the end of the run, negotiations and individual priorities may show whether Strictly can keep its four familiar judges for another season. The BBC has been contacted for comment.