Strictly Come Dancing is welcoming a fresh batch of celebrities to its dancefloor tonight
Cach Mercer is among the 15 celebrities taking part in Strictly Come Dancing 2026(Image: BBC)
A new season of Strictly Come Dancing kicks off tonight with a fresh group of celebrities preparing to hit the dance floor.
Brand new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe will be leading the show this year. Meanwhile, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke return to the judging panel.
The series will open with a huge performance from the Strictly cast, before the race for the glitterball trophy officially kicks off. Reality star Cacharel ‘Cach’ Mercer is among the stars hoping to win over both the nation and the judges.
While many BBC viewers will instantly recognise the TikTok-famous dancer, some will be left scratching their heads. Here’s our guide to everything you need to know about Cach.
Why is Cach Mercer famous?
Cach, 25, rose to mainstream fame after winning Love Island in summer 2025. He joined the show during its Casa Amor segment, which sees a group of new Islanders entering the villa to test the loyalties of the existing couples.
The newcomer ultimately paired up with American star Toni Laites and they went on to win the competition, splitting the £50,000 prize between them. The couple left the series hand-in-hand but split up less than a year later.
But the ITV reality show wasn’t Cach’s first claim to fame as he previously starred in MTV’s own dating show Are You The One? back in 2022.
It takes a slightly different approach to Love Island, putting 20 singles through a matchmaking process and challenging them to correctly identify their perfect partner.
Cach already had more than 700,000 followers on TikTok and 119,000 on Instagram before he was even introduced to ITV viewers, so he will have a huge fanbase rallying behind him throughout Strictly.
Before starting the dancing competition, the reality star said he is most excited to learn from the experts. “I can’t wait to get dance training from a professional dancer which is such a great opportunity,” he told the BBC. “They’re such experts in their field, and I can’t wait to learn from them.”
But he also admitted he’s feeling the nerves, saying: “I am mostly nervous about picking up the styles successfully, and being able to execute them to a high level, I am a bit of a perfectionist!”
The 2026 strictly line-up also includes Big Brother host Will Best, former footballer Shaun Wright-Phillips, House of the Dragon actress Bethany Antonia and fellow ex-Islander Dani Dyer.
Strictly Come Dancing launches on BBC One and iPlayer on September 19 at 7.45pm
