Ballet queen Darcey adds spin to Strictly

Newcomer Darcey Bussell adds some sparkle to the Strictly Come Dancing panel as she joins her fellow judges for a spin round the floor -- in a mirrored, glitterball-style dress.

All four judges will be seen dancing together in a new trailer as a taster for the forthcoming series in which ballerina Bussell replaces pop star Alesha Dixon.

Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli battle over who can perform the slinkiest moves as they vie for a turn with their new colleague in the BBC One teaser.

The quartet filmed the routine, choreographed by Revel Horwood, at a glamorous country retreat and it is the first time since the launch of Strictly that all the judges have been seen dancing together.

Cricket

The series returns to BBC One on September 15 when viewers will see the contestants team up with their partners for the first time.

Contestants include former England cricket captain Michael Vaughan and former children's TV presenter Johnny Ball -- the oldest-ever entrant at 74.

Ball is known to a generation of viewers for TV shows such as Think Of A Number and Play School.

He follows his daughter Zoe on to the show after she came third in the 2005 series, and she has since gone on to be the host of spin-off show It Takes Two.

Others reportedly taking part are Girls Aloud star Kimberley Walsh, model Jerry Hall and Westlife's Nicky Byrne.

Dixon bowed out of the show earlier this year to be a panellist on Britain's Got Talent on ITV.

hnews@herald.ie