EastEnders star 'joins' Strictly Come Dancing — but he's won the show before

It's that time of year when everyone is speculating who will be joining the Strictly Come Dancing 2024 lineup, and while we have a few names already confirmed for the show, it has also been reported by The Sun that EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick is about to be announced.

So far, the BBC has revealed that comedian Chris McCausland, JLS star JB Gill, opera singer Wynne Evans, singer and actress Toyah Willcox, Morning Live GP Punam Krishan, Love Island 2022 star Tasha Ghouri and reality TV star Pete Wicks will officially be joining the show.

Strictly fans will remember that Jamie has been on the show very recently when he won the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 Christmas Special when he was partnered with professional dancer Nancy Xu and danced a very impressive Quickstep.

Jamie is best known for playing Jay Brown in EastEnders . During his time on the soap, he has been involved in some huge storylines, including most recently losing his on-screen wife, Lola Pearce (played by Danielle Harold ) to a brain tumour.

A TV insider reportedly told The Sun: "Although an EastEnders actor is on Strictly every year, this is the first time a performer on the festive special has gone directly into the competition. Producers and viewers were blown away by Jamie’s dancing.

"It’s not clear yet whether he will take a break from the soap or if he’ll juggle dance rehearsals with doing scenes for the soap."

Other names that have been linked to Strictly Come Dancing 2024 but are yet to be confirmed include former Coronation Street star Shayne Ward, DIY SOS star Nick Knowles and Tom Dean, who reportedly let slip that he will be in this year's line-up at the Paris Olympics after helping Team GB retain their men’s 4x200m freestyle title.

According to PA news, Tom said: "Naturally you want to take a break after you've had a full Olympic cycle and the opportunity arose. I thought it would be really exciting to try something a bit different."

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 will start on BBC One next month.