Strictly’s 2024 lineup ‘will feature more men than women for the first time in the show’s history – sparking fears female stars were reluctant to take part following abuse scandal’

Strictly Come Dancing will feature more men than women for the first time in the show’s history, with the full list of stars leaked on Monday.

The popular family show is currently in the news for the way the professional dancers teach the celebrities, with multiple allegations of bullying and offensive behavior.

While stars Chris McCausland, JB Gill, Toyah Wilcox, Punam Krishnan, Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks and Wynne Evans have already been confirmed, The sun has reported that EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland will also be taking part.

The programme is completed by presenter Nick Knowles, Olympic swimmer Tom Dean, footballer Paul Merson, presenter Sam Quek, singer Shayne Ward, Gladiator Montell Douglas and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland.

That means there will be nine men competing on Strictly this year, compared to just six women. Sources say fears have been raised that recent abuse scandals surrounding the show have deterred female stars considering taking part.

A source said: ‘Looking at the figures, it’s hard to see how the ongoing bullying controversy could not have had an impact on this year’s Strictly recruitment process.

‘Never in the history of the series has the number of women been so small.

‘There were signs that there would be fewer female celebrities participating, such as the fact that Graziano was not replaced by another male professional on the show, but it is still a shock to see.’

MailOnline has contacted a representative for Strictly Come Dancing for comment.

On Wednesday, Tasha and Pete were the last to be confirmed for the new series of Strictly.

Tasha is the first Love Island star to appear on the show with a cochlear implant, an electronic device she had fitted at the age of five.

The model is committed with heart and soul to raising awareness in the deaf community.

In 2022, she appeared on ITV’s Love Island and has since amassed over 2.2 million followers across her social media network.

Tasha has worked with Number 10 Downing Street, The Department of Education and MED-AL to advocate on issues close to her heart. She is a published author with her debut novel Hits Different and has her own podcast, Superpowers with Tasha.

Tasha announced the news on Wednesday’s KISS FM Breakfast Show, excitedly saying: ‘Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m on Strictly Come Dancing!’

‘I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it’s an absolute Ghouri family favourite – so this is a dream come true. I know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent everyone and make them proud on that dance floor.’

Pete also called Kiss FM on Wednesday morning to confirm his arrival.

He told the show: ‘It’s a mixture of excited and petrified, generally petrified. I’ve said to people, can you really imagine me actually doing this and they’re like, yeah you’re right, you wouldn’t.’

‘I have to turn my phone off now because I’m still getting a lot of messages.’

He revealed that he had already told the news to his best friend Sam Thompson, who was ‘crying’.

“I’m not kidding, he was screaming, jumping up and down and crying. He’s already scheduled to come every Saturday and he’s making t-shirts and he’s my biggest fan in life, he’s already making t-shirts. He’s kind of like Martha in Baby Reindeer.”

Strictly has been in chaos in recent weeks after a number of allegations of abuse by professionals came to light.

The scandal broke out when actress Amanda Abbington left the show last year, alleging that her partner Giovanni Pernice abused her and later left the show.

Shortly afterwards it was revealed that Graziano Di Prima had been sacked for ‘kicking’ his partner, Love Island star Zara McDermott.

Since then, a number of allegations have been made against professional dancers old and new, leaving a dark cloud over the beloved show on its 20th anniversary.

This comes after Laura Whitmore accused BBC bosses of ‘gaslighting’ her over her Strictly Come Dancing experience with Giovanni Pernice.

The 39-year-old TV presenter, who partnered the 33-year-old Italian dancer on the show in 2016, recently confirmed she had spoken to the show about Giovanni’s “inappropriate behaviour”, after claiming she raised her concerns with the BBC six years ago.

And in a dramatic new statement, the star has shed more light on her experiences on Strictly, saying it’s ‘all coming out now’ amid the flood of allegations against the show and its professional dancers.

Speak with The Irish PostLaura spoke about how she thinks the industry has changed for women since she became famous, noting that women are “louder” and now “call people out on things.”

She added of her Strictly situation: ‘The things that I’m not going to talk to you about now, because they’re still pending, are all coming out now. They’re the things that I tried to talk about eight years ago.

When asked if she was not listened to when she first voiced her complaints, she replied: ‘Or [I was] ‘Manipulated to make it seem normal.’

Laura added: ‘It’s a shame that it has to come out in such a victim-shaming way, which it always does. And being the first to speak out about something is always hard.’

The presenter’s comments come days after she broke her silence on the Strictly scandal and confirmed she had spoken to BBC bosses about Giovanni’s behaviour.

Although she has not yet filed a formal complaint, Laura hopes she can ‘just’ accept what happened to her in the rehearsal room.

Laura admitted that she spoke to six former Strictly stars about their time on the show and passed their information on to the BBC.

Laura wrote on Instagram: ‘I have tried not to comment on recent press speculation until the BBC investigation is complete, but I feel there is a lot of misinformation in the press and I would like to help and show my support by setting the record straight.

‘I was asked to speak to the BBC, along with six people I know (who wish to remain anonymous because they do not want to be dragged into the press), about inappropriate behaviour they have experienced from the same person, similar to mine.

‘I first raised my concerns in 2016. I thought my experience was specific to me, but I’ve since learned I was wrong.

“The purpose of this is to show a pattern of behavior that I believe needs to stop. My evidence is to support other people’s experiences. It’s unfortunate that this is necessary to make someone’s voice heard.

‘I’m not looking for anything, just the acceptance that what happened to me in the rehearsal rooms during my time at BBC Strictly was wrong and that it won’t happen to anyone else again.

‘Because I have not filed an official complaint and am providing evidence of my experience to support the investigation, not all communications are being passed on to all parties involved.

‘There is misinformation in the press, so I want to set the record straight. Blaming the victim has to stop, otherwise we will never get better.

“I have tried to speak in the right way. I know the BBC and all other media outlets are continuing to do their best to improve, but for that to happen we have to speak out.”