We’re halfway through this year’s line-up for Strictly Come Dancing‘s brand-new 2026 series as another celebrity contestant has been confirmed. The eighth star to dance in the BBC ballroom is actor Jaime Winstone.
“I am so excited to announce that I will be joining the Strictly Come Dancing cast this year. I am no stranger to a dance floor, but the ballroom is a whole new world for me. I love a challenge though, so can’t wait to enter my showgirl era and get super sparkly!! Let’s get physical – see you on the dance floor!,” she said.
Winstone – the daughter of acting legend Ray Winstone – has appeared in the likes of Made in Dagenham, Tomb Raider and Wild Bill on the big screen, while her TV work has included Dead Set, Poirot and Four Lives.
Related: Former Strictly Come Dancing star announces she’s pregnant
She’s perhaps best known though for her portrayal of Barbara Windsor in the BBC biopic Babs. Winstone then took on Windsor’s iconic role by playing Peggy Mitchell in flashback specials of EastEnders, most recently during last year’s 40th anniversary celebrations. The episode won the British Soap Award for ‘Best Single Episode’.
Last year, Winstone told Digital Spy that she’d be keen to play Peggy again as some fans have been calling for a full-time spin-off series. “We’ll have to see! You know, we have to keep secrets,” she replied.
“But obviously, there’s so much still to explore with Peggy. What Barbara [Windsor] did with her was such a point in her life. I think, where I’m at, it’d be really great to explore that.
“I’d love to go in deeper as to why Peggy was as hard as she was. There’s got to be a soft [side] somewhere and obviously we’ve done the flashback episodes, so to fill in those gaps, yeah it’d be very interesting.”
Related: Gladiators star tipped to join Strictly Come Dancing line-up
Before she potentially gets the chance to do that though, Winstone will be taking to the dance floor this autumn, alongside Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and Big Brother host Will Best, who were both confirmed last week.
They joined the previously-announced Dani Dyer, Lacey Turner, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton and Cach Mercer for this year’s series.
Strictly Come Dancing will return to the BBC later this year.
Visit our Streaming Guide now to see at a glance where you can view ALL your favourite shows and movies.
The new edition of Living Legends, celebrating the global phenomenon of BTS, is here! Buy this ultimate fan guide in newsagents or online.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
