Award-winning actress Cynthia Erivo, known for her role in Wicked, will be joining Strictly Come Dancing as its inaugural guest mentor, according to recent news.
The West End star, who is 38 years old, was a guest judge on the show in 2021. She will return later this month as part of Movie Week.
The show will premiere on October 11th and will include a performance inspired by Wicked, danced by the professionals, as a preview to the upcoming second movie adaptation of the popular musical.
Wicked: For Good will feature Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande returning as Elphaba and Glinda, respectively. The movie is scheduled to be released in theaters on November 21.
Cynthia will be guiding the couples as a mentor while they prepare for Movie Week, and afterwards, she’ll join the judges to offer her opinions and scores on their performances.
According to a source, Strictly Come Dancing hoped to add some genuine Hollywood glamour to Movie Week, and Cynthia was brought in to coach the celebrity contestants.
They also told The Sun: ‘She will be collaborating with all the celebrities during rehearsals, and then she’ll be in the Strictly studio to share her thoughts on their performances.’
Daily Mail has contacted a representative for Strictly Come Dancing for comment.
The couples on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing performed for the first time live on Saturday. Former England footballer Karen Carney particularly impressed the judges with a lively Jive, earning her a top spot on the leaderboard with 31 points.
Former England rugby captain Chris Robshaw and his dance partner, Nadiya Bychkova, started off the first live show with a Samba performance set to EMF’s song, Unbelievable. The judges awarded them a combined score of 14 points.
Alex Kingston, the actor, and professional dancer Johannes Radebe performed a Viennese waltz to Michael Bublé’s “Cry Me a River” and received a score of 21 points.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, who some fans know as Nitro from Gladiators, and his dance partner Karen Hauer performed a Cha Cha Cha with a unique spin, set to Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It.” The judges gave them a score of 19 points.
Neighbours actor Stefan Dennis performed the foxtrot with fellow Australian dancer Dianne Buswell, set to the Neighbours theme song by Barry Crocker. Their performance earned them a score of 22 points.
Dianne proudly showed off her growing baby bump after sharing the exciting news that she and her boyfriend, Joe Sugg, are expecting a baby boy.
Next to take the floor were actor Ellie Goldstein and three-time finalist Vito Coppola, who performed a dazzling Cha Cha Cha.
They were awarded 17 points for their performance to Yes, And? by Ariana Grande.
Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope and Katya Jones really energized the dance floor with their jive, performed to The Temptations’ song Get Ready.
The pair came joint second on the leader board with an incredible 28 points.
On ITV, Ross King and his partner Jowita Przystal performed an energetic Cha Cha Cha to Katy Perry’s song California Gurls. He really gave it his all during the dance!
Judges were less impressed with Ross’ performance and scored him a brutal 10 points.
YouTube star George Clarke and his new American professional partner impressed the judges with their American Smooth performance. They received a fantastic score of 24 points.
Vicky Pattison and her partner Kai Widdrington impressed the judges with their Cha Cha Cha.
They danced to Best of My Love by Ella Eyre and received 23 points.
Former footballer Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and his partner Lauren wowed with their Quickstep.
Their performance to the Chelsea Dagger by The Fratellis awarded them 27 points.
Balvinder Sopal, who stars in EastEnders, and new Strictly professional dancer Julian Caillon performed a Samba to KC & The Sunshine Band’s “Shake Your Booty.” The judges awarded them a score of 17 points.
La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec’s American Smooth earned them a solid 24 points.
Despite a difficult week, Thomas Skinner appeared positive and danced a Paso Doble with his partner, Amy Dowden. The judges gave them a score of just 16.
Amber Davies danced a Waltz after a busy 48 hours. She joined the show as a late replacement when Dani Dyer had to withdraw due to an ankle injury.
Even with just over a day of practice with her partner, Nikita Kuzmin, Amber scored a strong 28 points, putting her in third place on the competition’s leaderboard.
Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke praised Karen Carney and Carlos Gu’s jive as the highlight of the evening, awarding them a fantastic 31 points. Their performance, set to Blondie’s One Way Or Another, put them at the top of the leaderboard.
This weekend, all 15 couples will perform for the second time. After Saturday’s Live Show, the public will be able to vote, and one couple will unfortunately be eliminated.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6:20pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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2025-10-02 03:06