Strictly Come Dancing is now only weeks away and to keep the identities of the incoming celebs under wraps, the BBC show uses a system of secret code names. Last year, the stars were give monikers based on the greatest classical gods and heroes. The year before that, it was the most memorable Shakespeare characters to grace the stage. And for the 2018 competition? Cheeses.
Yes, as revealed by presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly, the incoming amateur dancers will be named after everything from Stilton to Jarlsberg. And we now know the first contestant to be confirmed, Katie Piper, is Brie. “It’s better than Stilton. It’s not too smelly is it,” she said, after revealing the news on BBC Breakfast (which can only lead us to believe that she is eating her brie before it becomes fully ripe).
But which cheese is who? The co-hosts offered some Caerphilly crafted clues…
- Cheddar – According to Claudia, they’ll be "sharp, hard – excellent.”
- Wensleydale – "Nice. Northern, creamy. Yum!" explained Claudia. A hottie from Emmerdale, perhaps?
- Roquefort – "I love a strong blue cheese," says Claudia. Could this be Blue member Lee Ryan, maybe?
- Gouda – “This cheese might make you laugh,” hints Claudia.
- Camembert – “best served hot,” says Claudia.
- Applewood – We can expect them to be simply "smoking".
- Stilton – “Breaking news,” said Claudia. No points for guessing this will be a newsreader.
- Gorgonzola – A bit of mystery this one, with Claudia only saying it’s her favourite cheese.
- Jarlsberg – A cheese “out of this world,” apparently. Could this refer to astronaut Tim Peake?
- Mozzarella – “True fact. Mozzarella once lent me a wrap dress,” revealed Claudia. So, another TV presenter, perhaps? And one close to Winkleman?
But that’s not all. We can also expect feta, pecorino, goat and Welsh Caerphilly to join the show, and hopefully we’ll also get a few grate hints about their identities soon.
The next two contestants will be revealed on The One Show on Monday night (7pm, BBC1), where we'll find out their cheese codenames with any luck. Here’s hoping they’re not given too much of a grilling in the interviews…
