September 04, 2020

Jacqui Smith, Former Home Secretary, Completes Strictly Come Dancing Line-Up

Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith has been revealed as the 12th and final celebrity competing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
Jacqui Smith, Former Home Secretary, Completes Strictly Come Dancing Line-Up

She said: “I was speechless with excitement at being asked to join Strictly – and that’s very rare for me.

“Fifty years ago, I got a bronze medal for Scottish Highland Dancing and it feels about time to return to dancing. I couldn’t be in better hands with the Strictly team and I’m going to throw myself into the challenge. Watch out!”Getting ready to govern the dance floor. Former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith is making #Strictly her new constituency! 👉https://t.co/uugMRt7A3m@Jacqui_Smith1pic.twitter.com/9vsjfoRSXY— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 4, 2020The former Labour MP made history in 2007 when she became the first woman to serve as Home Secretary, when Gordon Brown was still the prime minister.
She resigned two years later, after being named in the parliamentary expenses scandal.
Her successor as Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, also made a recent venture into reality TV, competing as Pharaoh on the first series of The Masked Singer, which aired at the beginning of this year.
Jacqui completes this year’s Strictly line-up, which has been slowly revealed in the last few days.Award-winning Actor Caroline Quentin, former NFL player Jason Bell and The Wanted Singer Max George were the first three celebrities confirmed, followed by broadcaster Ranvir Singh and Radio 1 DJ Clara Amfo.
It was then revealed that Olympic boxer Nicola Adams would be taking part, as part of the first same-sex partnership Strictly has ever had in the competition.
Following this, comedian Bill Bailey, Invictus Games competitor JJ Chalmers, Made In Chelsea’s Jamie Laing, EastEnders star Maisie Smith and pop star HRVY were also announced as contestants for this year’s series.
Strictly will run for slightly shorter than usual as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, with Bruno Tonioli not featuring on the panel for the first time due to travel restrictions.MORE STRICTLY: Here's A Rundown Of The Celebrities Confirmed For Strictly Come Dancing 2020 So Far Opinion: Strictly Come Dancing Is Finally Doing Right By Britain's LGBTQ+ Youth Bruno Tonioli Teases One Big Advantage Of This Year's Stripped-Back Strictly Come Dancing

Headlines

World rings in 2023

Country by country, the world welcomed 2023 early Sunday morning — and bid goodbye to a year marked by war, economic uncertainties, and COVID variants. Many cities were celebrating New Year's in full force for the first time since the pandemic, with more than 100,000 gathering on the Embankment of the Thames in London for a firework show that paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, while an estimated million people braved the rain for the New Year's Eve party in New York's Times Square. Roni Bintang/Getty Images Dan Kitwood/Getty Images Alexi Rosenfeld/ Getty Images Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images "I just wish everyone a lot of prosperity, peace, and love," Tina Wright, a reveler visiting New York City from the Phoenix area, told the Los Angeles Times.