Conducting her own Strictly symphony… it’s Katie Derham!

Swapping the Royal Albert Hall for the Strictly ballroom, BBC Proms presenter Katie Derham joins Strictly.

Katie’s musical background could see her adapt in no time to the rhythm of Strictly. As well as her BBC Proms coverage, Katie has hosted The Classic BRIT Awards, learned to conduct on the reality show Maestro and currently presents BBC Radio 3’s Afternoon On Three.

No stranger to competitive environments, Katie joined ITV in 1998 and, as a 27-year-old, became the youngest newscaster on British national television and the youngest in ITN history.

Now 45, Katie is looking forward to “being taught to dance by world champions” on Strictly. She’s also looking forward to the “camaraderie which always shines through in the show between the contestants, dancers and the whole team.”

Whatever happens on the show, Katie knows she can count on the support of her “extremely excited” daughters who both love dancing. Katie said: “My dancing daughters have been trying to show me all their stretching exercises ...but they are way out of my league!”

Katie’s also excited about learning a “proper samba” as lots of her family lived in Brazil until the 1950s. She’s less sure of her existing dancing skills however, saying: “I'm a typical wedding dancer - two glasses of Prosecco and I'm truly fabulous. Or so I think.”

Born in 1970, Katie grew up in Wilmslow. After reading Economics at Magdalene College, Cambridge, she joined BBC radio as a researcher on Radio 4's Moneybox and Financial World Tonight.

Katie now lives in Sussex with her husband and daughters Natasha, 15, and Eleanor, 10.

Let us know what you think of our fifth addition to the Strictly line-up and stay tuned to @bbcstrictly, facebook.com/bbcstrictly and here on our official News Blog for all the latest announcements.