Former Radio 1 breakfast show host Zoe Ball pairs up with Ian Waite

TV presenters Fiona Phillips and Gloria Hunniford will also appear in the BBC show, which sees 12 stars learn to dance and compete against each other.

Ex-EastEnder Patsy Palmer, snooker player Dennis Taylor and BBC journalist Bill Turnbull will also take part when the talent show returns on 15 October.

Actress Jill Halfpenny beat athlete Denise Lewis to win last year's series.

The other celebrity contestants are former athlete Colin Jackson, chef James Martin, My Family actress Siobhan Hayes, Casualty actor Will Thorp and Jaye Jacobs, who plays Donna Jackson in Holby City.

Strictly Come Dancing, which was derived from long-running favourite Come Dancing, has given BBC One a ratings boost on Saturday evenings.

Charity donation

Last year's final attracted 10.6 million viewers, nearly one million more than rival ITV1 talent show The X Factor.

Competitors pair up with a trained dancer to learn a series of dances including the waltz, the foxtrot and the rumba.

Each week, another contestant is eliminated following a public vote.

Profits from the public phone voting are donated to Children in Need.

More than seven million votes were cast during the second series, raising �850,000 for the good cause.

BBC news journalist Bill Turnbull is partnered by Karen Hardy

Spin-off show Strictly Dance Fever, hosted by Graham Norton, saw amateur couples compete for a �50,000 prize.

Sadie Flower and Joseph Hall won the final in June.

A US version of Strictly Come Dancing was a hit with viewers, with more than 13 million people tuning in for the first episode in June.

Renamed Dancing with the Stars for the ABC network, it featured celebrities such as boxer Evander Holyfield and model Rachel Hunter.

Three new dances have been added to the contestants' challenges for the new BBC run.