Strictly Come Dancing: Will Young to give Bowie tribute

Will Young and his partner Karen Clifton will perform a tango

Will Young will pay tribute to David Bowie when he makes his Strictly dance floor debut this weekend.

Pop star Young and his professional dance partner Karen Clifton will perform a tango to Bowie's 1983 hit Let's Dance.

It comes after Bowie's death earlier this year from cancer at the age of 69.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing starts in earnest on Friday with its first live show, followed by a second on Saturday.

Young and Clifton are one of 15 couples competing for this year's Strictly title.

Six pairs will dance on Friday night's show, with the remaining nine performing the next night.

First elimination

Watching and assessing the performances in the studio will be the show's judging panel of Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell and chairman Len Goodman, carrying out his duties for the last time with this series.

Among the other contestants, former Labour MP Ed Balls and Katya Jones will take on a waltz to Elvis Presley's Are You Lonesome Tonight.

BBC sports presenter Ore Oduba will also be dancing the tango to Geronimo by Sheppard with his partner Joanne Clifton, while singer Anastacia and Brendan Cole will be attempting the cha cha to Lady Marmalade as sung by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil' Kim and Pink.

This year's Strictly Come Dancing contestants with their dance partners

Olympic gymnast Claudia Fragapane and AJ Pritchard have choreographed a routine to One Direction's What Makes You Beautiful.

Gold medal-winning long jumper Greg Rutherford and Natalie Lowe will be taking on a jive to The Temptations' Get Ready, while model Daisy Lowe and Aljaz Skorjanec will attempt a waltz to Unforgettable by Nat King Cole.

They - and the other contestants - will be given scores from the judges after their first performances.

Those marks will be carried forward to week two, when the public can vote. The first elimination will take place on the 2 October show.

The series launch earlier this month got an average of 9.3 million viewers on Saturday night - a record audience for an opening episode of the show.

Last year's winner was singer Jay McGuiness, formerly of the boy band The Wanted.