The sixth and seventh celebrities announced for the 2024 season of Strictly Come Dancing are Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and TOWIE’s Pete Wicks.
Ghouri, who was born deaf and uses a cochlear implant, gained fame on the eighth series of the ITV2 reality show in 2022, where she met her boyfriend Andrew Le Page. She has since become a dedicated campaigner for the deaf community, working with 10 Downing Street, the Department for Education, and MED-AL to raise awareness about hearing impairments. Ghouri is also a published author of her debut novel “Hits Different” and hosts her own podcast, “Superpowers with Tasha.”
Announcing the news on the KISS FM Breakfast Show, Ghouri expressed her excitement: “Pinch me, I can’t believe I’m going to be on Strictly Come Dancing! I’ve been watching the show since I was little – it’s a firm Ghouri family favourite – so this is a total dream come true. I know it’s going to be an unforgettable experience and I hope to represent and make everyone proud out on that dancefloor.”
As a trained dancer, Ghouri acknowledged that Strictly will be a new kind of experience: “I’ve not danced in quite a few years now, since Love Island my career has changed so much. I might not be good at it, like ballet, I’m not good at ballet, I’m trained in commercial, so I’m excited to learn these new styles.”
Pete Wicks confirmed his participation by calling into Kiss FM on Wednesday morning, sharing his mixed feelings: “It’s a mixture of excited and petrified, generally petrified. I’ve been telling people, can you really imagine me doing this? And they’re like, yeah, you’re right, you wouldn’t. I’m going to have to switch my phone off now; I’ll have a load of messages.”
