The great MasterChef macaron tower catastrophe of 2011 marked Nadia Lim's rise to stardom. After a race to construct a perfect cone-shaped macaron masterpiece, then-25-year-old Lim's win was sealed when runner-up Jax Hamilton's tower dramatically crumbled apart, due to its shaky structure. (Lim's perfectly curved tower stood still). Lim followed up her win by writing multiple cookbooks and co-founding My Food Bag.
Manu Vatuvei
Manu Vatuvei played for the New Zealand Warriors for 14 seasons, where he broke a number of records and became the team's top try-scorer. In 2017, he headed to Manchester to play with the Salford Red Devils but had to leave his contract early due to an injury. Let's hope he's fully recovered in time to put on his dancing shoes.
William Waiirua
Social media star William Waiirua is known for his iconic sunglasses and hip-thrusting dance moves, which he'll undoubtedly showcase on repeat in the coming weeks. Real name William Cribb, the influencer rose to fame after his moves were shared on social media by his childhood friend, All Black Aaron Smith.
Clinton Randell
What's the point in making a reality competition if not to bolster the profile of your own network of stars? This year, breakfast host Clinton Randell is the official radio recruit, following in the footsteps of Roger Farrelly, Simon Barnett, Robert Rakete and Jay-Jay Feeney. Here's hoping his co-host Dom Harvey has learnt his lesson about live-tweeting his support, following 2015's crotch-gate incident, in which Harvey posted a crotch shot of Chrystal Chenery, who was vying for the title against his wife Jay-Jay.
Glen Osborne
Glen Osbourne has had a colourful career. He played for the All Blacks at two Rugby World Cups (in 1995 and 1999) and later became a sports presenter for Māori television and part-time commentator. In 2016, at the age of 44, he took on a major career swerve and graduated from Police College. Osborne currently works in Whanganui as a constable.
Carolyn Taylor
Late-90s kids might recognise presenter Carolyn Taylor as a host of What Now, where she worked from 1999-2004. She later joined Celebrity Treasure Island in 2006, and now runs a fashion blog, ironically titled Fashionista Fail. Now that's the spirit.
Walter Neilands
You might not recognise his name, but you'll probably recognise his face, especially if you were born after the year 2000. Walter Neilands hosted kids' television staple Sticky TV from 2010 until the show's cancellation at the end of 2017. Past presenters of Sticky TV like Kanoa Lloyd and Sam Wallace have gone on to successful TV careers – could DWTS be Neilands' big breakout?
Anna Willcox
Another star who straddles both sporting and television worlds, Anna Willcox is a freestyle skier who has represented New Zealand internationally, most notably at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. She's also a sports reporter for The Crowd Goes Wild.
Laura Daniel
Comedian Laura Daniel is perhaps most recognisable as a core cast member of Jono and Ben, which wrapped its final season last year. Daniel also starred in and co-wrote Three's sketch comedy series Funny Girls with Rose Matafeo, and has flexed her musical muscle with Two Hearts, her live parody-pop project with Joseph Moore.
K'Lee
K'Lee first hit the New Zealand charts in 2001 with her cover of Broken Wings, which flew to number two on the singles charts, the first of three top 10 singles. A debut album followed, peaking at number four on the charts before the singer took a 10-year hiatus from music. In 2012, she returned with a new single, Tables Have Turned, which failed to chart and seemingly marked the end of her career as a recording artist.
Mike McRoberts
Calls for Mike McRoberts to take a spin on the dance floor gained traction last year after his Newshub co-host Samantha Hayes won the coveted disco ball trophy. McRoberts was firmly against the idea, according to Hayes but soon came around. A knee injury earlier this year threatened to put the brakes on Mike's quickstep but producers today confirmed he will be there will bells - and sequins - on.
