Presenter and best-selling author Graeme ‘The Dogfather’ Hall was announced as the 11th Celebrity taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing but fans have shared their disappointment over the ‘weak line-up’.

The dog trainer will be joining the likes of Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton and Will Best taking part in the hit BBC show this autumn.

Graeme is best known as the presenter of Channel 5’s hit show Dog’s Behaving (Very) Badly, which has run for almost a decade.

He also fronted the heartwarming The Dog Hospital with Graeme Hall, is a regular contributor to ITV’s This Morning and BBC radio, and last year even made a cameo in the hit drama All Creatures Great and Small.

Graeme is an author of three adult books, including the Sunday Times Best-seller All Dogs Great and Small.

Presenter and bestselling author Graeme ‘The Dogfather’ Hall was announced as the 11th Celebrity taking part in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing

Graeme is best known as the presenter of Channel 5 ’s hit show Dog’s Behaving (Very) Badly, which has run for almost a decade

His first children’s book The Ultimate Kid’s Guide to Dog’s was published in July 2024 and was shortlisted for the The Junior Book Awards 2025.

Graeme said: ‘I can’t believe I am joining the cast of Strictly for 2026. I have always loved dancing, so to have the opportunity to learn from the best in the business is a dream come true.

‘I have watched the show for years, so to be a part of it feels like a very exciting challenge, albeit more than a bit nerve-wracking! I can’t wait to get started. Bring it on!’

Despite the announcement, fans have shared their disappointment over the ‘weak lineup’ for the upcoming series.

Taking to Instagram, they wrote: ‘This has got to be one of weakest line ups; I only know 5 people so far this year but I’m sure I’ll love the others once they start getting their groove on;

‘Yet another ‘who’ from me; Who are these “celebrities”?; Another one that I have never heard of; Scrapped the barrel yet again absolute farce’.

Elsewhere in the line-up is Delta Goodrem, Chris Appleton, Cach Mercer, Will Best, Jaime Winstone, Sarah Storey, Bethany Antonia, and Shaun Wright-Phillips.

Further news will be revealed throughout the summer ahead of the brand-new series getting underway on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this September.

EastEnders star Lacey was the first contestant announced as she is currently on an extended break from playing her iconic character Stacey Slater in the soap and is keen to use her time to train for the BBC competition, which will start in September.

In a video shared to Instagram, Lacey admitted she is ‘terrified’ to be taking part in the BBC show, which will return to screens in September, and can’t wait to ‘learn a new skill’.

She said: ‘Hello it’s Lacey Turner I can’t quite believe that I’m actually saying this but I want to let you in on a little secret.

‘This September I will be taking my little toes onto the dancefloor to do Strictly Come Dancing.

‘I can’t believe it. I’m so excited and terrified at the same time but I’ve had so many friends do Strictly and I thought it was about time that I plucked up the courage and made my way onto that dance floor. So, there you go the secret is out, see you there in September.’

Graeme said: ‘I can’t believe I am joining the cast of Strictly for 2026. I have always loved dancing, so to have the opportunity to learn from the best in the business is a dream come true’

Despite the announcement, fans have shared their disappointment over the ‘weak lineup’ for the upcoming series

It comes after it was revealed Dani is also making her Strictly comeback.

The TV star has been confirmed as the second celeb to take part in the 2026 series of Strictly Come Dancing one year after she was forced to quit the 2025 run after fracturing her ankle during rehearsals.

Dani said: ‘I am so excited to be back in the ballroom this September!’

‘I just cannot wait to get my dancing shoes back on and hopefully this time around I can actually make it to week one! I’m just over the moon and cannot wait to find out who else is doing it!’

Upon her exit last year, BBC bosses confirmed the door would be left open for ‘heartbroken’ Dani to return for the 2026 series as they said they ‘hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future’.

Elsewhere, the returning Strictly professional dancers shared a glimpse inside day one of rehearsals for the 2026 series on Instagram.

Amy Dowden, Dianne Buswell and Jowita Przystal are among the stars returning to the dancefloor this year after the BBC show underwent a major shake-up.

The stars were also joined by returning pro Carlos Gu, 33, who scooped the coveted Glitterball Trophy with footballer Karen Carney.

As well as Katya Jones, Kai Widdrington, Aljaž Škorjanec, Lauren Oakley, Nancy Xu, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Alexis Warr, Julian Caillon and Vito Coppola.

Five new faces were recently announced to the pro line-up, months after the Strictly axe ‘bloodbath’ saw bosses ditch stars Michelle Tsiakkas, Karen Hauer, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Gorka Marquez.

Making their Strictly dancer debut this Autumn will be Ukrainian Aleksandra Isaeva, Italian hunk Cristian Priori, South African latin champion Lethabo Monametsi as well as Canadian dancer Mark Karmalita and UK National Ballroom Champion Maddie Ingoldsby.