Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

After last year's introduction of three new female dancers, this year sees three new male professionals taking to the dance floor on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ One's Strictly Come Dancing.

Each of them brings a new area of dance expertise and will join in a series which features more genres of dance than ever before – in both the competing couples' routines and the professional group dances.

This year Strictly will welcome:

Artem Chigvintsev, a Latin champion who is a graduate of So You Think You Can Dance? in the US and has unique experience of very different dancing genres in addition to his ballroom champion-level skill.

Jared Murillo who, at 21, was a US open swing youth champion. Trained in America, Jared was a principal dancer in the movies High School Musical 1 & 2.

Robin Windsor has completed five world tours of the worldwide ballroom dancing phenomena Burn The Floor, in which he has starred and choreographed routines.

This series sees the addition of a professional dance group, dedicated to performing routines on a scale never before seen on Strictly.

The group will comprise Strictly regulars and some new professional faces. The group routines promise to deliver show-stopping dance spectacles.

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Controller of Entertainment Commissioning, Mark Linsey, says: "Strictly will be back this autumn with more world-class dancers and more spectacular dancing than ever before.

"I'm delighted to be welcoming three new fantastic dancers to Strictly and am really excited about the introduction of a professional dance group, giving us even more opportunities to feature different areas of expertise and more genres of dance than in any other series."

Series eight of Strictly Come Dancing will commence in the autumn.

Pictures of the new dancers are downloadable with a log-in at bbcpictures.com, or alternatively contact the Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ picture desk during office hours on 020 8225 6800 or via e-mail at: pictures@bbc.co.uk.

Notes to Editors

This year on Strictly there will be 14 celebrities vying for the title. The 14 professional dancers partnering the celebrities are:

Artem Chigvintsev (new dancer)
Jared Murillo (new dancer)
Robin Windsor (new dancer)
Anton du Beke
Brendan Cole
James Jordan
Vincent Simone

Ola Jordan
Flavia Cacace
Erin Boag
Kristina Rihanoff
Natalie Lowe
Aliona Vilani
Katya Virshilas

Positions in the professional dance group have been offered to:

Lilia Kopylova
Darren Bennett
Brian Fortuna
Ian Waite
Matthew Cutler

And the professional group will be joined by other competing professionals and dancers, depending on the styles of dance each week.

SM4/CS