With 22 seasons under its belt, Strictly Come Dancing has not only revealed the dancing talents of some of the UK’s favourite celebrities, but it has introduced us to a new crop of stars: the show’s professional dancers.
Tasked with training their famous partners in all things ballroom and Latin dance, professionals from the show have become household names in their own right.
Some former pros have left Strictly to appear on reality shows, others to focus on their dancing careers, and a number have made headlines for all the wrong reasons.
Keep reading to learn more about the post-Strictly lives of some of the show’s most famous professionals.
Oti Mabuse
Mabuse is undeniably one of the most famous names from the show, joining as a professional in 2015 when she was paired with Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo. She became the only dancer to win two seasons consecutively – 2019’s competition with Kevin Fletcher and 2020’s with Bill Bailey.
Since leaving her Strictly role in 2022, Mabuse welcomed her first child with husband Marius Lepure in 2023 and has racked up several TV credits.
As well as currently sitting on the judging panel of ITV’s Dancing On Ice, the 34-year-old hosted her own short-lived breakfast show with the broadcaster last year, judged two series of The Masked Dancer, and has appeared on Catchphrase, The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer, and Big Brother: Late & Live.
AJ Pritchard
AJ Pritchard isn’t a stranger to the world of showbiz, reaching the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent in 2013 with his professional partner, Chloe Hewitt.
The brother of Love Island star Curtis Pritchard, AJ joined Strictly three years later, reaching the semi-finals in all but one of the series he participated in.
Leaving the show to focus on presenting jobs in 2020, since his Strictly stint, Curtis has appeared on the twentieth I’m A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!, where he finished in seventh place. In addition to completing Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins in 2022, Pritchard (alongside his brother) appeared on Hollyoaks for a short while in 2021, with the sibling’s acting chops criticised and memed widely.
Giovanni Pernice
Pernice was a professional on the show for nine series, winning the show with Rose Ayling-Ellis in 2021 and reaching the top two with Georgia May Foote, Debbie McGee, and Faye Tozer.
He was dubbed the ‘King of Halloween’ for topping the leaderboard every Halloween Week for every series he competed on and holds the record for the most tens ever awarded, with 97 across his tenure.
Earlier this year, his former celebrity partner Amanda Abbington filed a complaint against Pernice alleging bullying and harassment, calling the dancer “abusive, cruel and mean” during her time on the show.
Pernice’s former dance partners Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh backed Abbington’s claims. A BBC investigation upheld “some but not all” of the claims.
Since departing Strictly, Pernice has been confirmed as a professional partner on the Italian version of the show and will appear on an upcoming series of Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted.
Graziano Di Prima
Di Prima was partnered with DJ Vick Hope, Loose Women’s Judi Love, actress Kym Marsh and television personality Zara McDermott from Strictly’s 16th series to its 21st. Earlier this year, he was part of another scandal surrounding the show, facing allegations of misconduct that led to his removal from the professional line-up. After an internal investigation, video footage showed that Di Prima kicked his dancing partner McDermott during their rehearsals.
In a statement, McDermott said: “The entire production team and everyone behind the scenes as well as my fellow contestants were so amazing to work with. However, my experience inside the training room was very different. Reports have been made about my treatment on the show and there were witnesses to some events, as well as videos of particular incidents which are incredibly distressing to watch.”
Since the scandal, Di Prima has maintained a low profile, telling the BBC that he’s returned to Italy to do manual labour on a remote farm.
His spokesperson added: “There is never a time when kicking or any sense of that is right. And he knows that. He knows he’s made a mistake. He apologised at the time.”
Kevin Clifton
Nicknamed “Kevin from Grimsby” by the programme’s late host Bruce Forsyth, Clifton placed second with partners Louise, Susanna Reid, Kellie Bright and Frankie Bridge and won the show with Stacey Dooley before leaving in 2020.
Clifton was previously married to fellow Strictly professional Karen Hauer, while his dance partner Dooley was in a long-term relationship during her time on the show.
Rumours spread that Clifton and Dooley had entered a romantic relationship, which the pair initially denied. But, when it was revealed that Dooley and her partner Sam Tucknott had split, the couple eventually went public (adding another chapter to the so-called Strictly curse).
They have since welcomed a child together, Minnie, born last year, with Clifton now spending his time running a property investment business and appearing in pantomine.
Janette Manrara
The Cuban-American professional appeared on US competition show So You Think You Can Dance before an eight-series stint as a dancer on Strictly. Since 2021, she’s hosted It Takes Two – replacing Zoe Ball – alongside Rylan Clarke and Fleur East.
Manrara has toured the UK with her husband, fellow Strictly professional Aljaž Škorjanec, a number of times and also co-hosted BBC’s Morning Live since she stopped dancing on the show.
Camilla Dallerup
One of the show’s original pros, Dallerup featured on six series, winning the competition during her final appearance in 2008 with dance partner, actor Tom Chambers.
Since, she has appeared on the Strictly Come Dancing tour in addition to a number of competition shows, including I’m a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! and Pointless Celebrities. Now, Dallerup heads-up the judging panel of Dancing with the Stars New Zealand.
Kristina Rihanoff
Russian dancer Rihanoff’s dance partners on the show included Jason Donovan, Simon Webbe, and John Sergeant. Despite never winning the competition during her eight-series tenure, she has appeared on Celebrity Big Brother, Celebrity Mastermind, and The Weakest Link.
Rihanoff is known for her relationships with her former dance partners, boxer Joe Calzaghe and Ben Cohen. She was in a relationship with Calzaghe for four years after the couple competed together and is currently engaged to ex-rugby player Cohen, with whom she shares a child, Mila, born in 2016.
