Former Manchester City star confirmed as 2026 BBC Strictly Come Dancing contestant | OneFootball

BBC Strictly Come Dancing have confirmed that former Manchester City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips will star on their 24th series of the show later this year.

Wright-Phillips was a key part of the side that won promotion to the Premier League in 2001/02, and went on to establish himself as one of the division’s most exciting wingers, winning City’s Young Player of the Year award four years running before being named the club’s overall Player of the Year in 2004.

That form earned a £21 million move to Chelsea in 2005 – a club-record sale for City at the time. His return in 2008 led to a brace on his second debut away at Sunderland before going on to play his part in City’s 2011 FA Cup triumph – the club’s first major trophy in 35 years.

Since retiring in 2019 following spells at Queens Park Rangers and in the United States’ Major League Soccer, he has built a prominent second career as a broadcaster across the BBC, Sky Sports and ITV.

Shaun Wright-Phillips enters Strictly

Now, it has been confirmed that the former Manchester City and England winger will be a contestant on the 24th series of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing, starting later this year.

Shaun Wright-Phillips said of the announcement, “Dancing is in my blood – but mainly at family events! Strictly is definitely outside my comfort zone, but I’m super excited to get started and really looking forward to the challenge!”

SWP features in packed line-up for show’s return

Wright-Phillips arrives as part of a significant year for the show, which returns this September under new presenters Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe following the departure of long-time hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

The judging panel of Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke remains unchanged, meaning the usual scoring scrutiny will be firmly in place as the new-look series gets underway.

Shaun Wright-Phillips may already arrive with an advantage over some of his fellow contestants when it comes to handling performance pressure on live television through his professional sporting career.

For Manchester City supporters, it adds an unexpected new reason to tune into Saturday night viewing this autumn, with one of the club’s most popular former players now trading the football pitch for the ballroom floor.