By Liam de Brun

Copyright manchestereveningnews

Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke is the latest internet star hoping to make a big impression on the BBC dancing show. Fellow YouTuber Joe Sugg famously competed in the 2018 series, taking part with his future girlfriend Dianne Buswell as they reached the final. George is one of 15 famous faces who will be shown competing on the pre-recorded launch show, which airs on BBC One on Saturday night (September 20). The 25-year-old, who also goes by George Clarkey , boasts over 600,000 subscribers on YouTube and a further 2.3 million TikTok followers, where he posts comedic skits. On top of this, George is the co-host of The Useless Hotline Podcast with Max Balegde, who competed on I’m A Celebrity Australia earlier in the year. The pair recently broke down George’s relationship with model Yasmin Amelia, with George teasing his relationship status for a number of months. Knowing that he would be in the spotlight once he joined Strictly , George wanted to make sure it was clear he was taken. “That’s part of the reason why we wanted to say something. Because the two options were, say something. You have full control over how it comes out. “Whatever you say is basically how people find out, or it stays private. [It] just sort of takes all the control out of your hands. But then, I [will] just go on stream after that and be like, that’s not true, by the way. But, yeah, she’s my girlfriend,” he said. The rising UK internet star is a close friend of megagroup The Sidemen, which includes Britain’s Got Talent’s new judge KSI , who replaced Bruno Tonioli. Earlier in the year, George competed on the group’s reality show Inside, which made the move from YouTube to Netflix after a successful first season that featured Love Island’s Chloe Burrows. George’s time on Inside bizarrely saw him living in the same house as Manchester United legend Patrice Evra, who was looking to branch out from the beautiful game. Appearing in many other YouTubers’ videos and vice versa, George currently lives in London with fellow content creators Chrismd and Arthur Hill, who is also a successful singer. Teasing what to expect from his Strictly journey, George said: “Never thought I’d say this… but I’m doing Strictly! Honestly, I’ve got no idea what I’m doing but I’m excited to get stuck in… and potentially fall over a fair bit.” The full list of celebrities taking part in Strictly this year is Emmerdale ’s Lewis Cope, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal, former Love Island winner Dani Dyer, Gladiators’ Harry Aikines-Aryeetey, Doctor Who’s Alex Kingston, football pundit Karen Carney, drag queen La Voix, rugby legend Chris Robshaw, Chelsea legend Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, TV personality Thomas Skinner, former I’m A Celebrity winner Vicky Pattison, model Ellie Goldstein, Lorraine’s Ross King and Neighbours star Stefan Dennis. Meanwhile, the line-up of professional dancers for Strictly 2025 was announced back in June – with reigning champion Dianne Buswell, Vito Coppola, Amy Dowden , Johannes Radebe, Karen Hauer, Jowita Przytal and Aljaz Skorjaned among those confirmed. They will be watched and scored by Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas, with presenters Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman also returning.