Strictly Come Dancing bosses have announced the addition of a new professional dancer, Nancy Xu, for the 2019 series. 

The 28-year-old, from China, has joined her new colleagues for the first of the year’s show rehearsals, which start today. 

Sharing her joy at landing the job, she said: “I’m thrilled and excited! I cannot wait to start this new journey with all these amazing people and share the magic together.”

Nancy was a finalist on the Chinese version of So You Think You Can Dance and has also performed in the hit West End and Broadway show Burn The Floor. 

She is a specialist in Latin dance and was previously a finalist in the Under 21 World Championships in 2010 and a runner up at the 2013 International Singapore Championships. 

Nancy is technically replacing Pasha Kovalev, who announced his decision to step down from the show earlier this year. 

However, she won’t be paired up with a celebrity and will instead join Neil Jones, Luba Mushtuk and Johannes Radebe, by becoming a pro who works on the group dances. 

This means a slot as a main professional is open – could Neil finally get a partner? We hope so. 

Nancy isn’t the only new face joining the show as Motsi Mabuse will take her seat on the judging panel when Strictly returns this Autumn. 

Motsi – the equally fabulous sister of professional dancer Oti – has plenty of judging experience, having served appearing on the German version of the show since 2011. 

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