Here’s everything you need to know about the female contestants in Strictly Come Dancing.

Anita Rani

Anita may have some secret moves (BBC Pictures)
Anita may have some secret moves (BBC Pictures)

Age: 37

Claim to fame? TV presenter

Which judge do you want to impress the most and why? “I’d like to impress all the judges, they are all terrifying! I know some of the judges are nicer than others, mentioning no names – Craig! Haha! But if I could impress even one of them, I’d be happy.”

Are you a competitive person? “I don’t know. I always want to do the best I can and be the best I can be in whatever I put my mind to. I’m certainly not competitive with the other people. I just want to go for it and learn and see how far I can get in the competition.”

Carol Kirkwood

BBC Weather Presenter Carol KIrkwood will be trying her hand at dancing (BBC Pictures)
BBC Weather Presenter Carol KIrkwood will be trying her hand at dancing (BBC Pictures)

Age: 53

Claim to fame? BBC weather presenter

How do you rate your dancing skills? “I have no dance skills whatsoever. I’ve done some Scottish country dancing before which sounds way more glamorous than it is, but it’s only really been at weddings so as for formal dance training, I have none whatsoever.”

What are you looking for in a dance partner? “I want someone strong because I don’t want to flatten them and ruin their career after the first week. I also need somebody who is patient and will recognise that I don’t know my right and my left because that’s a big concern for me. My biggest challenge is going to be coping with nerves and remembering all the dance steps.

Georgia May Foote

Actress Georgia May Foote will be hoping for victory (BBC Pictures)
Actress Georgia May Foote will be hoping for victory (BBC Pictures)

Age: 24

Claim to fame? Actress

Why are you taking part in Strictly Come Dancing this year? “I have done such a long stint on Coronation Street that it’s nice to do something completely different and I absolutely love a challenge so that is why I want to take part in Strictly this year.”

Are you a competitive person? “I am actually. I’m a bit annoying when it comes to card games and stuff like that. I think in a competition like this you kind of admire everyone else.”

Helen George

Helen George from Call The Midwife (BBC Pictures)
Helen George from Call The Midwife (BBC Pictures)

Age: 31

Claim to fame? Call The Midwife actress

Have you any previous dance experience? “I did ballet when I was younger but I think that could be a bit of a hindrance as it is so different from all of the Ballroom and Latin dances that I will have to do on Strictly. One of the reasons I think I wasn’t so good at Ballet was because I get quite nervous and scared and I lost my confidence a bit, so I’m hoping I will get my confidence with dancing back during Strictly.”

Which judge do you want to impress the most and why? “When I did do ballet years ago, Darcey Bussell was my hero! Firstly I can’t even believe that I’m going to be meeting Darcey Bussell, let alone dancing in front of her! I had posters of her up on my wall so it’s going to be completely intimidating.”

Jamelia

Jamelia could be the next winner give that she's got some great dance moves (BBC Pictures)
Jamelia could be the next winner give that she’s got some great dance moves (BBC Pictures)

Age: 34

Claim to fame? Singer and Loose Women panellist

What is your previous dance experience? “The experience I have is working with a choreographer for my pop videos, but what any other pop artist will tell you, it’s a lot of smoke and mirrors. I wouldn’t rate myself highly, I am not the most confident of dancers but I love dancing and if dancing in my kitchen counts I’m very, very experienced!”

What will be your biggest challenge during Strictly? “My biggest challenge I think is going to be learning the routines. When I was doing music videos I would rehearse relentlessly because I would always forget the steps.”

Katie Derham

Katie Derham
Katie Derham joins the line-up this year (BBC Pictures)

Age: 45

Claim to fame? BBC Proms and Radio 3 presenter

Which judge do you want to impress the most and why? “I’ve been an enormous admirer of Darcey Bussell for a very long time. I love going to watch Ballet so when she became a judge I immediately would listen to her words of wisdom very closely. I think she’s amazing and she is the most beautiful dancer. I think if I could impress Darcey I would feel very proud of myself indeed.”

What will be your biggest challenge during Strictly? “I’m hoping that I’ll be in such good hands that it will all just happen. I’m not an actress and although I’ve watched so much performance in my professional life, and as a journalist I have to perform to a certain extent, what is going to be an interesting challenge for me is going into different characters each week. It’s not something I’ve been trained to do. I’m really up for it and I hope I’ll find a way of making it work for me.”

Kellie Bright

Kellie from EastEnders is hoping for Strictly fame (BBC Pictures)
Kellie from EastEnders is hoping for Strictly fame (BBC Pictures)

Age: 39

Claim to fame? EastEnders actress

What will be your biggest challenge during Strictly? “My biggest challenge is going to be all the other things going on in my life outside of Strictly – I have a family, I have a full on job at EastEnders that can be long hours and I’m doing a huge renovation to our house so I will be micro-managing all of them!”

Have you been given any advice ahead of the show? “I talked to Emma Bunton about taking part in Strictly because she’s a really good friend of mine. She said it was amazing and one of the best things she’s ever done.”

Kirsty Gallacher

Sports News Anchor Kirsty Gallacher has been given some sound advice from Caroline Flack (BBC Pictures)
Sports News Anchor Kirsty Gallacher has been given some sound advice from Caroline Flack (BBC Pictures)

Age: 39

Claim to fame? Sports news anchor

Which judge do you want to impress the most and why? “It would have to be Craig (Revel Horwood) because he’s damning really isn’t he? I don’t want him to say ‘you are a disaster!’ He’s quite cross, I think the other judges are a little bit kinder and see the fun in it but Craig expects it to be correctly done.”

Have you been given any advice? “Caroline Flack is a friend of mine and she said the whole experience is an adventure and life-changing. Gabby and Kenny Logan said the same and said it’s such a great journey, you have got to be a part of it and you will love it!”