Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' returned for its seventh series on 18 September 2009 on

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was a British entertainer and presenter whose career spanned more than 70 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the ITV series ''Sunday Night ...

and

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English model and television presenter who co-presented the BBC One celebrity dancing show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2013; she has been the show's main presenter since 2014. ...

returned as presenters of the main show on BBC One, whilst

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English television presenter, radio personality, film critic and journalist. Between 2004 and 2010, she presented '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on weeknights on BBC Two. Since ...

presented spin-off show '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (born 25 April 1944) is an English professional ballroom dancer, dance judge, and coach. He has appeared as head judge on the television dance programmes ''Strictly Come Dancing'', a programme where various celebrities c ...

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is an Italian choreographer, ballroom and Latin dancer, and Television personality. He has appeared as a judge on the British television dance competition ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and American adaptation ...

and

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is best k ...

returned as judges. Series 5 winner

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She gained recognition in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B, garage and hip hop group Mis-Teeq. The group disbanded in ...

joined the judging panel as a replacement for

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, talent scout, television judge and presenter, theatre director, and former dancer, who has worked in many fields of entertainment. For many years, she was most noted as the c ...

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell, (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is an English retired ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educational Sc ...

(who would later become a permanent judge from 2012 until 2018) was a guest judge from the quarter final onwards. Series 6 winner

Camilla Dallerup Camilla Sacre-Dallerup (born 6 April 1974) is a Danish author, life coach, hypnotherapist and former ballroom dancer. Dance career Dallerup was born in Aalborg, where she started dancing at the age of two and a half when her mother took her to ...

series 4 Series 4 could refer to: * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 4, the automobile model * BMW 4 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 4 series, line of nVidia video cards * Scania 4-series, the truck model line * South African Class 6E1, Series 4, e ...

winner

Karen Hardy Karen Hardy (born 14 July 1970) is a British professional ballroom dancer, coach, teacher and adjudicator. In 1998 she won the professional International Latin American Dance Championship with Bryan Watson. She also won the United Kingdom Open ...

and

Hayley Holt Hayley Doreen Holt (born 3 July 1980) is a New Zealand television presenter and former snowboarder and ballroom dancer, who presents sports news on 1 News At 6pm. She co-presented TVNZ ''Breakfast'' from 2018 to 2020 alongside Jack Tame and l ...

were replaced as professional female dancers by

Aliona Vilani Aliona Valeriya Kavanagh (''née'' Vilani on 1 May 1984; russian: Алёна Валерия Вилани), also known by her stage name Aliona Vilani, is a Russian-Kazakh TV personality and was a professional dancer in the BBC series of ''Stric ...

Katya Virshilas Katya Virshilas (born 10 September 1983) is a Lithuanian-Canadian dancer and actress. Early life Virshilas was born in Lithuania, to a Jewish family. She subsequently moved to Israel at age 6, and to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, at thi ...

and

Natalie Lowe Natalie Lowe (born 15 August 1980) is an Australian ballroom dancer. She is a four-time Australian ballroom dance champion. Lowe competed on, and won, Australia's ''Dancing with the Stars'' with celebrity partner Anthony Koutoufides''.'' She la ...

. The show on 7 November was filmed from the

Blackpool Tower Ballroom Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in ...

for the first time since the Grand Final of

series 2 Series 2 could refer to: * Apple Watch Series 2, a smart watch by Apple * Aston Martin Lagonda Series 2, the automobile model * Aston Martin V8 Series 2, the automobile model * BMW 2 Series, the automobile model line * GeForce 2 series, line of nV ...

. Due to illness, Forsyth did not feature in the show on 14 November. As a result, Daly took over as main presenter and

Ronnie Corbett Ronald Balfour Corbett (4 December 1930 – 31 March 2016) was a Scottish actor, broadcaster, comedian and writer. He had a long association with Ronnie Barker in the BBC television comedy sketch show ''The Two Ronnies''. He achieved promine ...

was a surprise guest. Winkleman took over Daly's normal role. The series was won by sports presenter Chris Hollins and his professional partner

Ola Jordan Aleksandra "Ola" Jordan (''née'' Grabowska; born 30 September 1982) is a British-Polish professional ballroom dancer and model. She appeared as a professional on the British TV show ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 to 2015. After winning a ch ...

Format

Each week since, 18 September 2009 to 19 December 2009. The couples dance a new routine (either a ballroom dance or a Latin dance) hoping to impress judges: Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman, Alesha Dixon and Bruno Tonioli. Each judge reviews the performance and then give a mark out of 10, giving the maximum score to 40. Once everyone has performed, they are ranked on the judges' leaderboard. So, for example if 10 couples were dancing: The highest scoring couple/joint highest scoring couple receives 10 points. The lowest scoring couple will be getting one point.

Couples

There were 16 couples in this series.

Scoring chart

Average chart

This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 40-points scale (scores from the group Viennese Waltz from Week 11 are not included and the scores from Weeks 12–14 are weighted to work on the same scale as Weeks 1–11)

Highest and lowest scoring performances of the series

The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' scores (out of 40) are as follows:

Couples' highest and lowest scoring dances

Weekly scores and songs

''Unless indicated othwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.''

Week 1

*Musical guest:

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Maria Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.I Believe"

Night 1 – Ballroom

;Running order

Night 2 – Latin

;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Martina & Matthew *Dixon: Martina & Matthew *Tonioli: Rav & Aliona *Goodman: Rav & Aliona

Week 2

*Musical guest:

Jamie Cullum Jamie Cullum (born 20 August 1979) is an English jazz-pop singer, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine stu ...

—"

I'm All Over It "I'm All Over It" is the first single from ''The Pursuit (album), The Pursuit'', the fifth studio album by Jamie Cullum. It was released on 2 November 2009 and entered the UK top 75 at No. 55, up from No. 92 the week before. Cullum explained: " ...

Night 1 – Ballroom

;Running order

Night 2 – Latin

;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Craig & Flavia *Dixon: Craig & Flavia *Tonioli: Craig & Flavia *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Richard & Lilia.''

Week 3

*Musical guest:

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

—"

Moon River "Moon River" is a song composed by Henry Mancini with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. It was originally performed by Audrey Hepburn in the 1961 movie ''Breakfast at Tiffany's (film), Breakfast at Tiffany's'', winning an Academy Award for Best Original ...

" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Lynda & Darren *Dixon: Lynda & Darren *Tonioli: Lynda & Darren *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Lynda & Darren.''

Week 4

*Musical guest:

Dionne Bromfield Dionne Julia Bromfield (born 1 February 1996) is a British soul music singer, television presenter and television personality. Her debut album, '' Introducing Dionne Bromfield'', was released in 2009 by Amy Winehouse's Lioness Records label. Sh ...

—" Mama Said" (with

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz. A membe ...

providing backing vocals) ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Lynda & Darren *Dixon: Lynda & Darren *Tonioli: Craig & Flavia *Goodman: Craig & Flavia

Week 5

*Musical guest:

Spandau Ballet Spandau Ballet () were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital's post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing "European Da ...

—"

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Zöe & James *Dixon: Zöe & James *Tonioli: Zöe & James *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Zöe & James.''

Week 6

*Musical guest:

Harry Connick, Jr. Joseph Harry Fowler Connick Jr. (born September 11, 1967) is an American singer, pianist, composer, actor, and television host. He has sold over 28million albums worldwide. Connick is ranked among the top60 best-selling male artists in the Uni ...

—"

The Way You Look Tonight "The Way You Look To-night" is a song from the film ''Swing Time'' that was performed by Fred Astaire and composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Dorothy Fields. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. Fields remarked, " ...

" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Jade & Ian *Dixon: Jade & Ian *Tonioli: Jade & Ian *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jade & Ian.''

Week 7

*Musical guest:

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

—"

You Should Be Dancing "You Should Be Dancing" is a song by the Bee Gees, from the album ''Children of the World'', released in 1976. It hit No. 1 for one week on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in S ...

" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Ali & Brian *Dixon: Zöe & James *Tonioli: Ali & Brian *Goodman: Ali & Brian

Week 8: Blackpool Week

*Musical guest:

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

—"

It's the Same Old Song "It's the Same Old Song" was recorded by the Four Tops for the Motown label. It was released in 1965 as the second single from their second album. Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song is toda ...

" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Ricky G. & Erin *Dixon: Ricky G. & Erin *Tonioli: Ricky G. & Erin *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ricky G. & Erin.''

Week 9

*Musical guest: Cast of ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

''—"

Beggin' "Beggin" is a song composed by Bob Gaudio and Peggy Farina and first released as a single by American band the Four Seasons in 1967. Initially charting at number 16 in the US, the song became popular in the Northern soul scene in the United Ki ...

" ;Running order *Jade picked up an injury during dress rehearsal and was unable to perform on the live show. However, she performed it in the final when she recovered from injury. *Laila only performed half of her Rumba due to an injury backstage. The judges scored the dance just on what they saw. *

did not attend the live show due to influenza.

stepped in as guest host. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Ricky G. & Erin *Dixon: Phil & Katya *Tonioli: Phil & Katya *Goodman: Ricky G. & Erin

Week 10

Musical guest:

Dame Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

—" This Time" ;Running order *Jade Johnson and her partner Ian Waite had to withdraw from the competition due to a number of weeks not being able to perform due to a knee injury. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Laila & Anton *Dixon: Laila & Anton *Tonioli: Laila & Anton *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Laila & Anton.''

Week 11

*Musical guests: James Morrison and

Nelly Furtado Nelly Kim Furtado (; ; born December 2, 1978) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Furtado has sold over 40 million records worldwide making her one of the most successful Canadian artists. She first gained fame with her trip hop-inspired deb ...

—" Broken Strings" ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Ricky W. & Natalie *Dixon: Ricky W. & Natalie *Tonioli: Ricky W. & Natalie *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ricky W. & Natalie.''

Week 12: Quarter-final

*Musical guest:

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

—" The Rose" ''Individual judges' scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.'' ;Running order ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Ricky W. & Natalie *Bussell: Ricky W. & Natalie *Dixon: Ricky W. & Natalie *Tonioli: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ricky W. & Natalie.'' *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ricky W. & Natalie.''

Week 13: Semi-final

*Musical guest:

Lily Allen Lily Rose Beatrice Allen (born 2 May 1985) is an English singer-songwriter and actress. She is the daughter of actor Keith Allen and film producer Alison Owen. Her music career began in 2005 when she made some of her vocal recordings publi ...

—"

Not Fair "Not Fair" is a song by British recording artist Lily Allen from her second studio album, ''It's Not Me, It's You'' (2009). Written by Allen and Greg Kurstin, the song was released as the second single from the album on 20 March 2009 by Regal ...

" ''Individual judges' scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.'' ;Running order

Week 14: Final

*Musical guests:

and

—" Something's Gotta Give" ''Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.'' ;Running order (Show 1) ;Running order (Show 2)

Dance chart

: Highest scoring dance : Lowest scoring dance : Not performed due to injury : Couple withdrew that week *Week 1 – Cha-Cha-Cha or Rumba, and Tango or Waltz (first group), Group Merengue (second group) *Week 2 – Cha-Cha-Cha or Rumba, and Tango or Waltz (second group), Group Merengue (first group) *Week 3 – Paso Doble or Quickstep *Week 4 – Salsa or Foxtrot *Week 5 – Jive or Viennese Waltz *Week 6 – Samba or American Smooth *Weeks 7–10 – One unlearned dance *Weeks 11 – Charleston or Rock ‘n’ Roll, and Group Viennese Waltz *Week 12 – Two unlearned dances *Week 13 – Judge's choice of dance and Argentine Tango *Week 14 – Highest-scoring ballroom, Group Lindyhop, highest-scoring Latin, Freestyle Showdance

TV ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on

BBC1 BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...

. Figures exclude the BBC HD Channel. All numbers are in millions and provided by BARB In September 2009 ''Strictly Come Dancing'' earned a place in

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

as "most successful reality television format", with licensing rights sold to broadcasters in 38 countries. Nonetheless, the sixth series' audiences had suffered as a result of direct clashes with

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

rival ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

''. The BBC's decision in August 2009 to screen the seventh series on Saturday nights only was partly an attempt to reduce conflict with the rival talent show, as ITV had hinted that The X Factor's results show would be broadcast on Sunday evening. Sources at the BBC described the move as "better for the viewers... people at home lose out if things are competing against one another... We wanted to make Strictly Come Dancing an unmissable TV event". However, the BBC still came under intense criticism when the extended Saturday show, initially running from 7–9pm, clashed almost entirely with The X Factor's main show. ITV sources accused the BBC of "effectively splitting the audience". Writing in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' George Dixon, head of scheduling for BBC One, argued that "the ability of viewers to see programmes again, whether via personal video recorders like

Sky+ The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere of Earth, atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space. In th ...

, online catch-up services including

iPlayer BBC iPlayer (stylised as iPLAYER or BBC iPLAYER) is a video on demand service from the BBC. The service is available on a wide range of devices, including mobile phones and tablets, personal computers and smart televisions. iPlayer services del ...

or on channels such as E4 or

ITV2 ITV2 is a British free-to-air television channel owned by ITV Digital Channels, a division of ITV plc. It was launched on 7 December 1998. For a number of years, it had the largest audience share after the five analogue terrestrial stations, a ...

, akesthe notion of 'forcing' viewers to watch... outdated", adding that "There are around seven repeats of The X Factor on ITV1 and ITV2 each week". The scheduling conflict ended with The X Factor securing a higher audience throughout the series. On 22 October 2009, the BBC rescheduled the Saturday show, now down to eight contestants, so that the overlap between the two programs was only 45 minutes. The BBC denied that the move was in direct response to the success of its ITV rival, saying instead that the move was to accommodate a new series with impressionist Jon Culshaw. Strictly Come Dancing's runtime, previously fixed at two hours, was also expected to decrease as contestants were progressively eliminated, leading to a further reduction in overlap.

Notes

References

External links

*
Strictly Come Dancing series seven
BBC Press Release {{Strictly Come Dancing Season 07 2009 British television seasons