BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Lauren Oakley says 'I see you' amid not getting celebrity partner

Lauren Oakley has spoken for the first time about not being given a celebrity partner on Strictly Come Dancing this year. The dancer was one of three professionals on the show who will not be competing in the BBC One dance contest this year.

Lauren, whose first celebrity partner was Channel 4 News' Krishnan Guru-Murthy last year, missed out with Kai Widdrington and Carlo Gu this year when the pairings for the 2024 series were revealed during the Strictly launch show on Saturday (September 14).

The hit dance show kicked off with the colourful and energetic pre-recorded launch show during which hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman welcomed the class of 2024 into the iconic ballroom for the first time while their professional dance partners were also revealed.

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They were joined by some very familiar faces - the Strictly judges Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Motis Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood - who will be back to cast an expert eye over the new couple's routines when the competition officially begins with the first live show this Saturday (September 21) on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.

But all eyes were definitely on the new couples with the pairings including Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell, Dr Punam Krishan and Gorka Marquez, Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones, Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu, JB Gill and Amy Dowden, Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin, and Paul Merson and Karen Hauer.

But fans were left gutted to realise that Lauren, Kai and Carlos had missed out this year. However, they will still very much be part of the series - and the 'Strictly Family' - and will appear in various dancers throughout the upcoming season.

Laure