Telly Mix

The Strictly Come Dancing 2012 celebrity and professional dance pairings have been revealing in tonight’s launch show.

Hosted by Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly the professional dancers opened the show with a choreographed dance around the iconic BBC Television Centre, including special appearances from Sir Bruce Forsyth, Tess Daly, Darcey Bussell and Craig Revel Horwood.

In another first for the show, new judge Darcey Bussell also took to the dancefloor to perform a spectacular America Smooth inspired routine with professional dancer Ian Waite.

Alongside a special performance by popstar Mica – also joined by the Strictly pros – Sir Bruce and Tess revealed the celebrity and professional pairings, capturing the initial reactions they had to the news.

The pairings are as follows:

Colin Salmon and Kristina Rihanoff

Dani Harmer and Vincent Simone

Denise Van Outen and James Jordan

Fern Britton and Artem Chigvintsev

Jerry Hall and Anton Du Beke

Johnny Ball and Aliona Vilani

Kimberley Walsh and Pasha Kovalev

Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor

Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace

Michael Vaughan and Natalie Lowe

Nicky Byrne and Karen Hauer

Richard Arnold and Erin Boag

Sid Owen and Ola Jordan

Victoria Pendleton and Brendan Cole

The premiere culminated in a group dance by the celebrities and the professional dancers to the classic Queen hit ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ and gave the audience the chance to spot the front runners to lift the glitterball trophy this series.

The Strictly Come Dancing 2012 live shows begin on October 5 on BBC One.