Throng

6.25pm Saturday 11 September on BBC ONE and BBC HD

Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly put their dancing shoes on for a red carpet launch show from Television Centre which sees this year's celebrities matched with their professional dance partners for the first time

Abrams developing Alcatraz series

J.J. Abrams is currently developing a new drama series based around the infamous prison island Alcatraz. Abrams will team up with a former Lost producer on the project who will also write the pilot episode.

Strictly not to clash with X Factor

The Strictly Come Dancing launch show will not clash with ITV’s The X Factor like it did last year, with the BBC scheduling it for 6.25pm on BBC One. A smart move considering Strictly lost out in the ratings to The X Factor last year when they screened at the same time.

As Simon Cowell slams Strictly Come Dancing, saying it should be on television earlier in the afternoon for its older viewers, the BBC have confirmed that the launch of the dancing show will not compete with The X Factor in the same time slot.

Strictly Come Dancing lost out in the ratings war last year and it looks like they want to save themselves the embarrassment this year.

The launch of the eighth series of the ballroom dancing show will be screened on September 11 and will feature its first ever red carpet event where partners will meet each other for the first time.

Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will reveal which celebrities will be taking part as well as who they will be partnered with in a one hour special at 6.25pm on BBC.  The X Factor's latest auditions show will not start until 7.45pm.

Four new dancers have joined to complete the new Strictly Come Dancing professional dance troupe, which will perform spectacular dance routines throughout series eight.

They are: Tanya Perera, who was a featured dancer in the West End production of Dirty Dancing; Shem Jacobs and Aneta Piotrowska, who have both performed in the Polish Dancing With The Stars; and Crystal Main, who has performed on Strictly Come Dancing in South Africa.

Crystal, Tanya, Aneta and Shem will join Darren Bennett and Ian Waite to make up the six-person group and together they will make their group debut performance in this year's Strictly launch show, due to transmit on BBC One on 11 September.

Darren Bennett will dance with Crystal Main, Ian Waite will dance with Aneta Piotrowska and Shem Jacobs will dance with Tanya Perera.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to screens this autumn with a brand new one-hour studio launch show.

Filming of the show will commence with a red carpet event at BBC's Television Centre as celebrities, judges and professional dancers arrive before commencing the live show.

Inside the studio, for the first time ever, viewers will get to see the celebrities being paired with their professional dance partner on the Strictly set in front of an audience. Previously these "first meets" were filmed, often in a training room or work place. This year the identity of partners will be kept secret until they meet on the Strictly floor, giving audiences the chance to see each and every reaction.

As well as unveiling the new celebrities taking part, the launch show will also be a showcase of what's to come this series including larger, more spectacular group routines and a revamped set.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing is certainly upping the ante - what with axing certain professional dancers and shaking up the line up, they're also going to be showing for the first time, the moments when the celebrities meet their professional partners for the first time.

The special launch show will be shown on September 11th and will be shown in frontof a live studio audience.

Ramsay to bag millions in deal

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will net millions of pounds in a deal which sees his production company One Potato Two Potato, which produces the likes of The F Word and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, sold to British production giant All3Media. Under the new conglomerate, Ramsay will look to build his presence in the US and will benefit from bigger distribution and licensing operations.

Kelly Brook for Strictly return?

Kelly Brook is reportedly being lined up for a return to Strictly Come Dancing in this year’s eighth season. Brook, who had to withdraw from the 2007 season due to the death of her father, is being chased by executive producer Moira Ross to return to what is being touted as the “sexiest” season ever.

Kanye invited back to MTV Awards

The upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing will be launched with a special show in September which showcases the stars and their partners.

The one-hour show will take place at the BBC Television Centre where the celebrities for the season will meet with their partners for the first time.

It will be a completely new twist for the celebrated dancing series with viewers able to watch the moment the meetings take place.

BBC controller of entertainment commissioning Mark Linsey said: "In a series that features more excitement and glamour than ever before - a red carpet event is the ideal way to launch this year's Strictly. This, along with a fantastic line-up of celebrities, even more professional dancers and a revamped set, will see this series getting off to a great launch."

In the past the meeting between the stars and their dancing partners has taken place in training rooms or workplaces and screened on the first live show.

Former Eastenders and Love Actually star, Martine McCuthcheon has said that she was offered a part in Strictly Come Dancing but is too busy.

We're not sure what she's busy doing aside from those yoghurt adverts, but apparently it's too much to keep her from dacing this year.

The 34 year old actress said that she would like to do the show next year, "I have been asked if I would consider a Strictly Come Dancing special but I may be working so we will see.  Maybe next year if not. I love it."

However, contrary to McCutcheon's statements, a BBC insider said that she was never considered for the line up this year.  Interesting.

Strictly Come Dancing starts next month on BBC1.

The BBC's Strictly Come Dancing is now a world record holder.  The show holds the title of the most successful reality show format.

The show achieved the title after being sold to to two more countries.

Indonesia and Vietnam are the newest countries to join the club of 30 other countries which includes the US, Austraia, Japan and India.

The programme goes by the name of Dancing with the Stars internationally and Joyce Yeung, an executive at BBC Worldwide, said of the title, "The show has a wonderful mix of glamour, competition and celebrity which makes it must-watch TV wherever it airs."

The BBC have got themselves a bit of a stickly situation with Strictly Come Dancing.  One of their new dancers, Russian born Artem Chigvintsev, has been told that he may face being deported to America due to having two jobs and working too many hours.

The BBC poached Chigvintsev from West End show Burn the Floor however the dancer kept working there.  Under Home Office rules he can only work 20 hours a week in a second job however Burn the Floor requires him to work 38 hours.

Producers from the BBC then sent emails to the musical bosses demanding that he was risking his visa and needed to quit the show but Burn the Floor refused leaving the BBC asking Ardem to go back to America, where he resides, and reapply for a work visa.  It will mean they need to hunt for a new pro dancer to stand in on the show.

Rumour has it that former Strictly Come Dancing Star, Matthew Cutler, who won the show with Alesha Dixon in 2007, is defecting to Dancing On Ice.

Cutler was axed from the main dancing part of the show for the upcoming series and therefore decided to quit the show.  It is believed that Cutler will take part on Dancing On Ice as a celebrity learning to skate, and not as a professional.

Cutler's dancing ability will definitely give him advantages over the other competitors in the show and they're bound to be annoyed at his head start in the competition.

Robbie Williams' bezzie mate, Jonathan Wilkes is also rumoured to be taking part in the next ice skating series.

Ian Waite and Darren Bennett will return to Strictly Come Dancing as part of this series' new professional dance group, and will be joined by four new recruits – one male and three female – who will be confirmed as the series draws nearer.

Matthew Cutler won't return as a permanent member of the dance group. Instead, he's concentrating on a burgeoning choreographic and teaching career, plus managing his own dance school, which he opened last year. He will, however, return to choreograph some of the group numbers – and a few guest appearances aren't ruled out.

Matt said: "I've absolutely loved my time on Strictly, and now is a good time to focus on developing new areas of my career. I'm excited about having more time to commit to new projects and, of course, still having a hand in Strictly without all the training!"

Doctor Who DVD details

The DVD box-set of Doctor Who’s fifth season will feature specially filmed scenes which reveal what happened in the Tardis between episodes. Other features will be a video diary by Matt Smith and special editions of behind-the-scenes show Doctor Who Confidential.

More stars attached to Strictly

The lattest celebrities to be linked to the upcoming season of Strictly Come Dancing are soap Nathalie Emmanuel and model Sophie Anderton. The pair have reportedly been approached by producers to appear.

We poke a lot of fun at Bruce Forsyth on these pages, mainly because we know he can take it.

The truth of the matter is that he really is a national treasure who has worked his socks off longer than most of us have been alive.

Now, he's agreed to scale back his hosting role on Strictly Come Dancing.

According to the Daily Mail, the 82-year-old entertainer has reached a deal with the BBC to back out of the results show, which is now reportedly to air on Sundays.

"Bruce has not signed his contract yet, but it all looks very positive," a source claimed. "We are still looking at some scheduling issues that would see Bruce take a reduced role on the show. But if this happens, he will still be very much part of the series. He is integral to Strictly."