Sir Ian McKellen to appear on Strictly's Halloween results show

Summarised from 4 outlets · Updated 31 Oct, 08:09 · Archive

Sir Ian McKellen will make a cameo on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show, reading Dracula to a group dance routine.

Sir Ian McKellen will make a special appearance on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show on Sunday, November 1, on BBC One and iPlayer. The 87-year-old actor will lend his voice to a group dance performance and read an extract from Bram Stoker's Dracula at the climax of the routine, set to Tame Impala's song of the same name.

The performance, which was recorded earlier this year, will feature a storyline involving professional dancers Alexis Warr and Nikita Kuzmin on a first date, which takes a dark turn when Kuzmin is revealed to be a vampire. McKellen is known for his vast body of work across stage, film and television, including Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films, Magneto in The X-Men films and Freddie Thornhill in Vicious.

Sunday's show will also include a musical performance from Becky Hill and the series' first-ever three-couple dance-off. One pair will be sent home from the competition by the judges, who will vote to eliminate a couple rather than save one. The live show airs on Saturday, October 31 at 6.30pm, with results following on Sunday at 7.10pm.

The 2026 series has seen several eliminations so far. Celebrity hair stylist Chris Appleton and his partner Amy Dowden were the first pair to be eliminated after losing the dance-off to Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. Actress Melanie Walters, known for her role as Gwen in Gavin and Stacey, was knocked out in Week 3 along with her partner Aljaz Skorjanec. In Icons Week, Paralympian Dame Sarah Storey and her partner Julian Caillon were eliminated after losing the dance-off to Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu.

Sir Ian McKellen to appear on Strictly's Halloween results show — Image: NW Evening Mail

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How it is being reported

UK acting legend to make special appearance on Strictly Come DancingSir Ian McKellen will make a small cameo on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show this weekendNW Evening Mail · 31 Oct, 07:44
UK acting legend to make special appearance on Strictly Come DancingSir Ian McKellen will make a small cameo on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show this weekendWestmorland Gazette · 31 Oct, 07:44
UK acting legend to make special appearance on Strictly Come DancingSir Ian McKellen will make a small cameo on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show this weekendCumberland News · 31 Oct, 07:44
UK acting legend to make special appearance on Strictly Come DancingSir Ian McKellen will make a small cameo on Strictly Come Dancing's Halloween results show this weekendWhitehaven News · 31 Oct, 07:44

In this story: Sir Ian McKellen · Strictly Come Dancing · BBC One · Bram Stoker · Tame Impala · Alexis Warr · Nikita Kuzmin · Becky Hill

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