Babatunde Aléshé is the fifth celebrity contestant confirmed for the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special 2025
Babatunde Aléshé is the fifth star announced to take part in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, made by BBC Studios and airing on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
Babatunde will be paired with Strictly Come Dancing Professional Dancer Nancy Xu when he enters the Strictly Christmas ballroom this December.
Babatunde is an award-winning stand-up comedian, actor and podcaster. As a stand-up he has toured extensively, with his latest headline tour of the UK concluding this week ahead of international dates in 2026.
Babatunde has regularly appeared on TV in shows including Taskmaster – where he was part of the series 18 cast – and on Celebrity Gogglebox, sharing the sofa with Mo Gilligan. In 2022 Babatunde took part in I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here, lasting 18 days in the jungle, and won a Gold ARIAS award for his podcast series Mission Imagination. Other TV appearances over the years include Live at the Apollo, Would I Lie To You? and Richard Osman’s House of Games.
Babatunde co-hosted the 2024 MOBO Awards and was Head Judge at the 2024 BBC New Comedy Awards. As an actor his work includes roles in Christmas Karma, Sumotherhood, and Doctor Who. He recently launched the new podcast, Man Like You, with Mo Gilligan and Eddie Kadi.
Babatunde Aléshé says: “I used to do a little dancing when I was in college. I used to do Street Locking and Break Dancing, but then I found comedy and pursued that instead. At 39 I’ve accepted that a good two-step is all I need to get by at any function, but I know that won’t be enough for Strictly! Let’s hope the old moves come back to me in time for Christmas.”
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special will see six couples battle it out under the glitterball to be crowned the Strictly Christmas Champion. Hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will oversee the festivities for their final time, while Head Judge Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, and Anton Du Beke will all be on hand to dish out sleigh-loads of advice, Christmas cheer and the odd lump of coal – before the voting studio audience will decide who wins. Expect a winter wonderland full of festive magic, dazzling group dances, live music and more in what will be the perfect antidote to the post-Christmas Dinner slump.
Babatunde joins the previously announced Scarlett Moffatt, Melanie Blatt, Jodie Ounsley (aka Fury from Gladiators) and Nicholas Bailey in Strictly’s festive line-up. The final celebrity taking part in the 2025 Strictly Christmas special will be announced later this week on Strictly: It Takes Two at 6.30pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special is a BBC Studios Entertainment Production for the BBC. It was commissioned by Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC. The Executive Producer for BBC Studios is Sarah James, and Strictly’s Christmas Series Editor is Kim Allinson. The Senior Commissioning Editor for the BBC is Jo Wallace.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special will air on BBC One and BBC iPlayer this Christmas.
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