Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has opened up about the upcoming series09:18, 30 Jul 2026Updated 09:18, 30 Jul 2026Strictly Come Dancing stars Amy Dowden and Carlos Gu have addressed the major changes in the upcoming series.‌The beloved BBC competition is returning without Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly for the first time since Claudia took over from Bruce Forsyth in 2014, as Emma Willis, Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe are now stepping into their roles.‌Meanwhile, five new professional dancers have been announced, following the likes of Gorka Marquez and Karen Hauer’s exits in a reported ‘bloodbath’.‌Aleksandra, Cristian, Lethabo, Maddie and Mark are joining the returning dancers, as fans wait to see who they’ll be partnered up with as the line-up has begun to be released, including Dani Dyer, Will Best, Delta Goodrem and Lacey Turner.The shake-ups come after Strictly was thrown into crisis in recent years, with BBC investigations taking place and professional dancers Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prime being axed from the line-up following the show being thrown into scandal.‌Despite the shake-ups, fan-favourite Amy has admitted her excitement at the upcoming series, insisting: “The format of the show is not changing.”The Welsh dancer joined her co-star Carlos Gu on Thursday’s Good Morning Britain, speaking about their upcoming appearance in Celebrity Hunted during an interview with Kate Garraway and Adil Ray.Addressing the changes about Strictly, with Kate admitting “a lot is going to change”, Amy said she was “super excited”, reports Wales Online.‌“Changes are great,” Carlos agreed.Amy continued: “What we’ve got to remember is, the format of the show is not changing.‌“I’m a fan of the show, I’ve grown up watching it so it’s so surreal to have been a part of it and I’m so proud to be a part of it whilst they’ve been introducing new presenters.“What we all love is the competition side, and at the end of the night, we’re all talking about the best numbers, who improved the most, who might be at risk and that is the heart of the show.“I’m just so excited.”‌Her comments come after Amy marked the “start of a new era” with Strictly’s new hosts.She previously said on ITV Lorraine, speaking about Johannes’ new role: “I can’t imagine he won’t be dancing. Knowing Jo-Jo and his love for dance, I can’t see him not dancing! I obviously don’t know but it’s going to be all very exciting and the start of a new era.”‌Sharing her close bond with former hosts Claudia and Tess: “They were there for me since I joined the show and they were for me during all my treatment and everything as well.“I just think those two were massive fans of the show, they genuinely loved and watched… they were obsessed with it.”‌Tess and Claudia announced they were quitting Strictly last year, saying their time on the show had been “an absolute dream” but it “feels like the right time” to leave.They wrote: “We have loved working as a duo and hosting Strictly has been an absolute dream. We were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time.“We will have the greatest rest of this amazing series and we just want to say an enormous thank you to the BBC and to every single person who works on the show. They’re the most brilliant team and we’ll miss them every day.Article continues below“We will cry when we say the last “keep dancing” but we will continue to say it to each other. Just possibly in tracksuit bottoms at home while holding some pizza.”Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV1 and ITVX.