I remember the first time I properly sat down with my gran to watch Strictly. The lights, the music, the sheer joy of seeing someone who could barely manage a box step transform over weeks into someone gliding across the floor. It felt like proper Saturday night telly, the kind that didn't need lectures or agendas, just talent, sweat and a bit of sparkle. So when the news dropped that Cach Mercer, last year's Love Island champion, is the latest name joining the 2026 cast, I couldn't help but grin.
The announcement came through the official @bbcstrictly channels on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube around 9 July. They even cheekily nodded to the Love Island catchphrase with a caption about him being "our type on paper". Mercer, a social media star, model, DJ and ambassador for a young persons' mental health charity, becomes the fifth confirmed celebrity. He lines up alongside Lacey Turner, Dani Dyer, Delta Goodrem and Chris Appleton for the series that returns to BBC One and iPlayer this autumn.
What I like about these announcements is how they keep feeding a show that still manages to feel like a national institution. No one's pretending it's high art, but there's something quietly reassuring about a format that celebrates discipline, partnership and the willingness to look a bit daft in sequins for the sake of entertainment. In an age where so much content seems engineered to divide, Strictly just gets on with bringing families to the sofa.
I have grown up watching the show with my family and am so excited to now be part of the cast. Dancing is a huge passion of mine and I can't wait to learn Ballroom and do the Foxtrot for the first time!
Those are Mercer's own words from the official announcement, and they ring true. The lad won Love Island in 2025 and has built a following partly through his dance content. Afrobeat, hip-hop, street. Now he'll tackle the proper ballroom stuff under the guidance of a professional, in front of millions. It's the sort of leap that used to be telly's bread and butter.
I'll admit I've grown a tad cynical about some of the more headline-grabbing casting choices in recent years. But there's something refreshing about a young guy who speaks openly about watching the show with his family and genuinely seems buzzed to learn the foxtrot. It reminds me why the programme has endured. It rewards effort over edginess, charm over controversy. Viewers across generations tune in not because it's cutting edge, but because it's reliably wholesome.
As the summer rollout of names continues ahead of the September start, Mercer's addition feels like another sensible step in keeping that tradition alive. The glitterball might be daft, the scores occasionally baffling, but the heart of it remains oddly unifying. And in Britain, that's no small thing.
