''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British
dance
Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...
contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly
ballroom
A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...
and
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 judges. The title of the show is a continuation of the long-running series ''
Come Dancing
''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities.
The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
''. The format has been exported to 60 other countries—under the title ''
Dancing with the Stars
''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...
''—licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a
modern dance
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...
-themed spin-off ''
Strictly Dance Fever
''Strictly Dance Fever'' is a British television programme, broadcast on BBC One on Saturday evenings. It was an amateur dance talent competition, hosted by Graham Norton, which ran during Spring 2005 and Spring 2006. It had 2 extra shows, The S ...
''. The ''
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 ...
'' named ''Strictly'' to be the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series is currently presented by
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.
...
and
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 ...
. Bruce Forsyth co-presented the series with Daly until 2014.
The series has been broadcast 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 ...
since 15 May 2004, typically on Saturday evenings with a following Sunday night results show. From series 2 onwards, the show has been broadcast in the run up to Christmas. With its high viewing figures, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' has become a significant programme on British television. Eighteen stand-alone Christmas specials and nineteen charity specials have also been produced.
Development
Producer Richard Hopkins, who had produced the first UK series of '' Big Brother'', unsuccessfully pitched the idea of a modern ''
Come Dancing
''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities.
The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
'' to the BBC under the title of ''Pro-Celebrity Dancing'' in 2003. Later, entertainment executive Fenia Vardanis also suggested reviving ''Come Dancing'', so
Jane Lush
Jane Elaine Lush (born 10 August 1952) is the Chairman of BAFTA, and a former BBC executive. She left the British Broadcasting Corporation in 2006, after a career spanning over 35 years.
Life and career
Lush was born in Marylebone. She attended ...
, the then head of BBC Entertainment, put Hopkins and Vardanis together to develop the show.
Hopkins then called in Karen Smith, who had just produced '' Comic Relief Does Fame Academy'' for BBC One and '' The Games'' for Channel 4, to help lead the development of the show and launch the series. Smith was the show-running Executive Producer of the first three series, and of sister show '' It Takes Two''. She then took the role of Creative Director of BBC Entertainment whilst still overseeing series 4 and 5.
Hopkins later took the format to America himself when the BBC dismissed the idea of selling it abroad, as they felt it was too British.
Format
From series 1 to 11, Sir
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.
...
presented the pro-celebrity ballroom dancing competition. From series 8 to 11, Forsyth only presented the main show and was replaced for the results show by
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 ...
, at which point Daly assumed Forsyth's role as main presenter and Winkleman assumed Daly's role as co-presenter. Winkleman has joined Daly as full-time co-presenter for series 12 following Forsyth's departure after the 2013 series. Through
telephone voting
Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone.
Broadcast contest televoting
Televoting i ...
, viewers vote for who they would like to be in the next round, the results of the poll being combined with the ranking of the judges. For example, with ten contestants left, the judges' favourite would receive ten points, second favourite nine points, and so on, and similarly with the viewers' rankings. The bottom ranked couple gets one point. The profits from the telephone lines were donated to
Sport Relief
''Sport Relief'' was a biennial charity event from Comic Relief, in association with BBC Sport, established in 2002.
It was the idea of Kevin Cahill, CBE, who had joined Comic Relief in 1991 to establish a new department as Director of Educati ...
in series 1, to Children in Need from series 2, until series 8 when donations to charity stopped.
The show is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday evenings, and is currently presented by
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.
...
and
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 ...
(with
Zoe Ball
Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...
covering for Winkleman for a number of weeks in 2014). Sir Bruce Forsyth presented the live shows alongside Daly from 2004 to 2013, announcing his departure in 2014. He was to continue to present special editions of the show. For most of the second series,
Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
stood in temporarily for Daly while she took maternity leave; Claudia Winkleman hosted the results show and editions that Forsyth had missed between 2010 and 2013. The judging panel initially consisted of
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 ...
,
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 ...
,
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 ...
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 ...
.
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 ...
took Phillips' place from series 7 to 9, after which she left the programme to judge ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...
'' which led retired ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell to replace her. Bussell remained a judge alongside Goodman (until he was replaced by
Shirley Ballas
Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles whi ...
in 2017), Tonioli and Horwood until 2018. Up until 2020, Tonioli commuted weekly between Hollywood and London to judge both the American and British versions of the show simultaneously- however, due the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, he could no longer juggle both the UK and US shows- he was not replaced for the 2020 series; but pro dancer
Anton Du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...
took his place from the 2021 series, and has now replaced Bruno full-time on the panel. Each judge gives the performance a mark out of ten, giving an overall total out of forty. The voice-over announcer is
Alan Dedicoat
Alan Dedicoat (born 1 December 1954) is an English announcer for programmes on BBC One. He is known as the "Voice of the Balls" on the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lottery The National Lottery Draws, programmes, providing a voice ...
. During series four, an hour-long highlights show was shown on Sundays at 19:00 on BBC Two, and during series five and six, the results show moved to Sunday evenings, although it was filmed on Saturday and then broadcast "as live" on the Sunday.
The singers on the show are
Tommy Blaize
Tommy Blaize (born 5 March 1963) is a vocalist, composer, pianist, and guitarist. He is best known as a vocalist on BBC One's ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Blaize has been singing professionally since the age of 9. He has worked with some of the wo ...
,
Hayley Sanderson
Hayley Sanderson (born 1982) is an English singer, songwriter and saxophonist. She is one of the vocalists on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and a musician on recordings by Rick Wakeman.
Career
Born in Peterborough, England, Sanderson beca ...
,
Lance Ellington
Lance Ellington (born 22 June 1957) is an English singer, songwriter and actor.
Ellington, the only son of the band leader Ray Ellington, specialises in swing and big ballads. He has worked with many artists including Sting, George Michael, Gl ...
, Andrea Grant and, formerly, the well-known British dance music vocalist
Tara McDonald
Tara Jane McDonald (born September 9, 1986) is an English singer-songwriter. She is signed to Play Two/Warner Records.
McDonald achieved success working and co-writing with Armand van Helden and Axwell on the chart hits " My My My" and " Feel ...
. The music director is
David Arch
David Arch, better known as Dave Arch, is a British pianist, conductor, arranger and composer with a career covering albums, films and commercials, television and live performances. He is Musical Director and arranger for BBC Television's '' Str ...
.
Tommy Blaize
Tommy Blaize (born 5 March 1963) is a vocalist, composer, pianist, and guitarist. He is best known as a vocalist on BBC One's ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Blaize has been singing professionally since the age of 9. He has worked with some of the wo ...
has been part of ''Strictly'' since its beginning. David Arch joined in the fourth series and Hayley Sanderson in the fifth. In the seventeenth series, the singers were joined by Mitchell.
The show was broadcast from a specially constructed set at
BBC Television Centre
Television Centre (TVC) is a building complex in White City, London, White City, West London, that was the headquarters of BBC Television between 1960 and 2013. After a refurbishment, the complex reopened in 2017 with three studios in use for ...
(primarily in the largest studio, TC1) until its closure in 2013, with the show moving to
Elstree Studios
Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...
' George Lucas Stage 2 from 2013 onwards. However, in the first two series, shows were also filmed at the
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 ...
in
Blackpool
Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...
, where the original ''Come Dancing'' series was filmed in the 1970s.
In the second series, two shows were filmed at the Tower Ballroom — show five and the Grand Final, which was broadcast live on 11 December 2004. In 2005 though the BBC announced that they would not be returning to the venue for the third series due to "logistical problems". In October 2008, Craig Revel Horwood called for the series to return to the Tower Ballroom, saying, "The atmosphere was electric. It's huge and has so much history. The Tower Ballroom puts a lot of pressure on the professionals and the celebrities to perform to the best of their potential. What a wonderful place to go live to 12 million people. We have got to get the BBC to bring Strictly Come Dancing back to Blackpool." Eventually, for series 7, the show did return to the Tower Ballroom, where Blackpool-born
Craig Kelly
Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian politician, who represented the Division of Hughes as a Liberal Party and later United Australia Party MP from 2010 to his defeat at the 2022 Australian federal election.
Kelly initially ...
was eliminated. The episode was aired live on 7 November 2009. ''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned to Blackpool for the 2010 and 2011 series. After series 10, when ''Strictly Come Dancing'' did not go to Blackpool, they announced that they would return for series 11.
Presenters and judges
Professional dancers
Key:
: Winner of the series
: Runner-up of the series
: Third place of the series
: Fourth place finalist of the series
: First elimination of the series
: Withdrew or quit in the series
: Participating in current series
: Did not receive a celebrity partner
Current
Former
Notes and statistics
*
Anton Du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...
remains the longest-serving professional dancer, taking part from series 1 to series 18. In the fourth and fifth weeks of series 18, he was a guest judge while regular judge Motsi Mabuse was
self-isolating
In health care facilities, isolation represents one of several measures that can be taken to implement in infection control: the prevention of communicable diseases from being transmitted from a patient to other patients, health care workers, ...
, before taking on the role officially in series 19 due to the absence of
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 ...
.
* Four professionals have won during their first series on the show:
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, '' Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a ...
Artem Chigvintsev
Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev (russian: Артём Влади́мирович Чи́гвинцев; born 12 June 1982) is a Russian-American professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing.
Chigvintsev was a cast member of '' Burn the F ...
Jowita Przystał
Jowita Przystał (born 22 August 1994) is a Polish ballroom dancer. She is known for appearing on '' The Greatest Dancer'' and ''Strictly Come Dancing'' as a professional.
Career
Przystał and her partner Michael Danilczuk have represented Pola ...
(series 20) won with her first celebrity partner, having already been a part of the show’s previous series.
* Four professionals have won during their last series on the show:
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 6),
Flavia Cacace
Flavia Cacace-Mistry born 1980 is an Italian British professional dancer. Her professional dance partner is Vincent Simone (they are branded when performing together as 'Vincent and Flavia'), and for ten years both partners appeared on the BBC's ' ...
(series 10),
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 ...
(series 13) and
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
(series 14).
* Following his departure from the professional cast,
Ian Waite
Ian Waite (born 29 January 1971) is a British professional dancer specialising in Latin American dance, a teacher and choreographer.
Biography
Waite was born in Reading, Berkshire. He started dancing at the age of 10. Mary Richardson, a former ...
made regular appearances on the companion programme ''It Takes Two'' until 2020. Waite and Darren Bennett both participated in the professional dance troupe in series 8, and Waite stood in as a temporary dance partner in series 8 due to the unavailability of Brendan Cole.
* Iveta Lukosiute initially joined the show to partner
Johnny Ball
Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball.
Early life
Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...
in series 10 after his original partner, Aliona Vilani, was injured in training. She then became part of the main cast for series 11.
* In series 11, having previously been announced to be leaving the show, Vilani subsequently replaced
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 ...
, who was injured before the start of the series. The producers of the show announced this on 2 September 2013.
* Vilani is the only professional to have been eliminated first twice in a row, with
Tony Jacklin
Anthony Jacklin CBE (born 7 July 1944) is a retired English golfer. He was the most successful British player of his generation, winning two major championships, the 1969 Open Championship and the 1970 U.S. Open. He was also Ryder Cup captain ...
in series 11 and
Gregg Wallace
Gregg Allan Wallace (born 17 October 1964) is an English broadcaster, entrepreneur, media personality, writer and former greengrocer. He is known for co-presenting ''MasterChef'', ''Celebrity MasterChef'' and '' MasterChef: The Professionals'', ...
in series 12.
* Vilani &
Oti Mabuse
Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...
are the only professionals to have won more than one series. Mabuse is the only professional to have won twice in a row.
*
Kevin Clifton
Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...
has had the most appearances in the final of any professional, with five (2013–16, 2018). He is also the only pro to have reached more than two finals in a row, appearing in four consecutive finals in total.
* Since series 13, the show has had more professional dancers than celebrities to partner them with. In this and in subsequent series, the following professionals have been without celebrity partners:
:* Series 13: Joanne Clifton
:* Series 14 and 15: Neil Jones and Chloe Hewitt
:* Series 16: Neil Jones,
Luba Mushtuk
Luba Mushtuk (Russian: Люба Муштук; born 14 November 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Career
Mushtuk was four-time winner of the Italian Dance Championship and is al ...
and
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
:* Series 17:
Graziano Di Prima
Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreographer.
Career
Di Prima was born in Sicily.
He toured with Burn the Floor, UK in 2021 alongside other professional dancers and the Strictly Come Dancing the Professionals Live ...
,
Gorka Márquez
Gorka Márquez (; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the ...
and
Nancy Xu
Nancy Xu YouJie (; born 30 July 1991) is a Chinese dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer on '' Strictly Come Dancing'' since 2019.
Early and personal life
Xu was born on 30 July 1991 in Hunan, China. She beg ...
:* Series 18:
Nadiya Bychkova
Nadiya Bychkova ( uk, Надія Бичкова) (born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in ‘10’ Dance. In 20 ...
, Graziano Di Prima, Neil Jones and Nancy Xu
:* Series 19: Luba Mushtuk,
Jowita Przystał
Jowita Przystał (born 22 August 1994) is a Polish ballroom dancer. She is known for appearing on '' The Greatest Dancer'' and ''Strictly Come Dancing'' as a professional.
Career
Przystał and her partner Michael Danilczuk have represented Pola ...
and Cameron Lombard
:* Series 20: Neil Jones, Luba Mushtuk, Cameron Lombard,
Lauren Oakley
Lauren May Oakley (born 28 February 1991) is an English professional dancer and choreographer, best known for appearing as a professional on the BBC One television series ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Oakley was born on 28 February 19 ...
and Michelle Tsiakkas
* As of series 19, Chloe Hewitt is the only professional to have left the cast without ever having a celebrity partner.
* After suffering an injury, Neil Jones was unable to dance with his celebrity partner Alex Scott in weeks 6 and 7 of series 17. He continued to choreograph Scott's dances, while Kevin Clifton temporarily partnered her until Jones recovered.
Professional partners
Over the years, many dancers from the show have formed both professional and personal partnerships, dancing together competitively, on the show, or both. Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova are married, as are James and Ola Jordan and Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara, who became engaged after joining the show in 2013 and were married in 2017. Matthew and Nicole Cutler are divorced but remain professional partners; Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton were engaged when Clifton entered the show in 2013 and were married prior to the 2015 series, before divorcing in 2018, while Neil and Katya Jones entered the show as a married couple before separating in 2019. Anton Du Beke and Erin Boag have danced as a professional couple since 1997, while Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are former
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
world champions as a duo and have done multiple tours together. Brendan Cole and Camilla Dallerup danced together for many years, including a stint in the original series of ''
Come Dancing
''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off on the BBC from 1949 to 1998. Unlike its follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', contestants were not celebrities.
The show was created by Eric Morley, the ...
''; following their split in 2004, Cole and Katya Virshilas formed a professional partnership, before parting in November 2009. Other current and former professional partnerships featured on the show include Dallerup and Ian Waite, Paul Killick and Hanna Karttunen, Andrew Cuerden and Hanna Haarala, Brian Fortuna and Kristina Rihanoff, Rihanoff and Robin Windsor, Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis, siblings Kevin and Joanne Clifton, AJ Pritchard and Chloe Hewitt, and Gorka Márquez and Karen Hauer.
Presentation
Dances
On average, dances last for approximately 90 seconds. Musical accompaniment is provided by The Strictly Come Dancing Band.
* The
Waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...
,
Rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
,
Tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
Foxtrot
The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a tim ...
,
Paso Doble
Pasodoble (Spanish language, Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This military ...
and
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
have all been danced since series 1.
* The
American Smooth
This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those.
This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highl ...
and
Viennese Waltz
Viennese waltz (german: Wiener Walzer) is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in b ...
were added in series 3.
* The
Salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
and
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
were added in series 4.
* No more dances were added until series 7, in week 11, when couples performed either a
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
(which winner Chris Hollins chose to perform again in the final) or a
Rock N' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
routine. The final also featured a head-to-head
Lindyhop
The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the Black communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of many danc ...
. Of these dances, only the Charleston was retained for subsequent series, although elements of the Lindyhop have often featured in Showdances.
* Series 8 introduced the Swing-a-thon, where all remaining couples danced Swing simultaneously and were voted off the dancefloor one by one by the judges until only one couple remained. This returned in series 9 and 11.
* The tenth series featured a "Dance Fusion", in which the couples attempted to perform two dances consecutively in one routine.
* The twelfth series introduced the
Waltz
The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position.
History
There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wa ...
-a-thon, which used the same manner as the Swing-a-thon: all remaining couples danced the Waltz on the dance floor at the same time. Afterwards, the results were revealed by the judges.
* The thirteenth series introduced a
Quickstep
The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal a ...
-a-thon, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously danced the Quickstep. The judges then ranked them from one to seven and gave points accordingly.
* The fourteenth series saw the Cha-Cha-Challenge introduced, in which all six remaining couples simultaneously danced the Cha-Cha-Cha. The judges then ranked them from one to six and gave points accordingly.
* The fifteenth series saw the Paso Doble-thon introduced, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously performed a Paso Doble. The judges then ranked them one to seven and gave points accordingly.
* The sixteenth series saw the Lindy-Hop-athon introduced, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously performed the Lindy Hop. The judges then ranked them from one to seven and gave points accordingly.
* The sixteenth series introduced
Contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
,
Jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
, and Street/Commercial dances as part of a "couples' choice" category.
* A
Showdance
Concert dance (also known as performance dance or theatre dance in the United Kingdom) is dance performed for an audience. It is frequently performed in a theatre setting, though this is not a requirement, and it is usually choreographed and p ...
(Freestyle) has always been performed in the series final as a last chance for couples to impress the public. From series 2 to 7, the Showdance was not scored by the judges. From series 8 to series 18, the Showdance was performed as each couple's second dance in the final.
Prior to
series 10
Series may refer to:
People with the name
* Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series
* George Series (1920–1995), English physicist
Arts, entertainment, and media
Music
* Series, the ordered sets used i ...
, the dances performed in the early weeks were switched between one Ballroom and one Latin, and were divided as evenly as possible depending on the number of contestants left. As the competition progressed further, this system was abandoned and many styles, not just two, could be performed in one week by each of the remaining contestants. From
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 ...
to 7, the remaining contestants who made it to the semi-final were granted to perform the semi-final-exclusive
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
. As of series 10, the contestants are now allowed to perform any of the chosen dances in any week, though the Argentine Tango remains generally reserved for the latter stages of the competition. The Showdance, however, continues to only be performed in the final.
Coaching
As of series four, coaches are Jaclyn Spencer and Chris Marques (aka Cuban Groove) for
Salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
and
Mambo
Mambo most often refers to:
*Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form
*Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music
Mambo may also refer to:
Music
*Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particular ...
, and Jenny Thomas and
Ryan Francois
Ryan Francois is a swing dancer, choreographer and actor, who played a central part of the revival of the Lindy Hop
.
Specialising in dances related to the Jazz & Swing era - including the Lindy Hop, Charleston, Tap and Authentic Vernacular Jazz, ...
Charleston
Charleston most commonly refers to:
* Charleston, South Carolina
* Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital
* Charleston (dance)
Charleston may also refer to:
Places Australia
* Charleston, South Australia
Canada
* Charleston, Newfoundlan ...
. The
Argentine Tango
Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in patterns such as AB ...
coaches in series three were
Flavia Cacace
Flavia Cacace-Mistry born 1980 is an Italian British professional dancer. Her professional dance partner is Vincent Simone (they are branded when performing together as 'Vincent and Flavia'), and for ten years both partners appeared on the BBC's ' ...
and
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone (born 15 March 1979) is an Italian professional dancer, who has appeared as a professional dancer on '' Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 until 2012. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. Simone and prof ...
, both of whom have subsequently competed in the show.
Results show
From series 1 to 4, the results show was shown live on Saturday night one hour after the performances.
As of series 5, the results show is recorded on the Saturday night directly after the live show and incorporates the result of the viewers' votes, which are completed by 21:30. This was confirmed by the official BBC website in 2008:
Throughout the Sunday results show, the presenters refer to 'Saturday night' in reference to the main show due to the timing of the Sunday programme, and the outfits of Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman and the judges are changed to present an illusion of a second live broadcast.
For series 7, the Sunday results show was axed and put back to Saturday nights as a result of a revamp of the show. It then reverted to Sundays from series 8.
Dance-off
A new system called the Dance-off, which takes place in the results show, was introduced in series 5. It continued until series 7, but did not return in series 8. It was then reinstated in series 10 and has remained a feature of the show ever since.
There Dance-off consists of the two couples who received the lowest totals that week from the combined judges' scores and public vote. The aim of the dance-off is for the couples to convince the judges that they deserve to go through to the following week's competition. Before they attempt their dance a second time, the couples sometimes get advice from the judges. The judges then decide which couple remains in the competition based on the dance-off performances. If three of the judges agree that one of the couples should be saved, that couple is through to the following week's competition and the Head Judge's vote is not counted. If one couple has two votes and the other couple has one vote, then the deciding vote is cast by the Head Judge, originally
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 ...
and currently
Shirley Ballas
Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles whi ...
. Afterwards, the eliminated couple perform one final dance — sometimes known as "waltzing out of the ballroom". The Monday after their elimination, they appear on '' It Takes Two'' to discuss their time on the programme.
On two occasions, the dance-off was cancelled; firstly, in series 14, in which one of the celebrity contestants,
Anastacia
Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer, songwriter and former dancer. Her first two albums '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001) were released in quick succession to major success. Spurred o ...
, sustained an injury and was unable to compete in the Dance-off as a result. Under the rules of the show, the couple with the lowest combined total was eliminated. The second occasion in which the Dance-off was cancelled was in Series 20, again due to an injury sustained by
Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 ...
. Tess Daly announced on the results show that Adams had decided to withdraw from the competition as a result of being unable to compete in the Dance-off.
''It Takes Two''
During the run of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ''Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' is broadcast each weeknight 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 ...
. The series was previously hosted by Claudia Winkleman but, due to her pregnancy in 2011, she had to leave the series, and was replaced by Zoe Ball, who hosted the show from Series 9 to 18.
Rylan Clark-Neal
Ross Richard Clark (born 25 October 1988), known professionally as Rylan, is an English broadcaster and model. He finished in fifth place on the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012, and the following year, he won the eleventh series of ...
joined as co-host in series 17. In May 2021, it was announced that Ball was to leave the show after 10 years, and on 10 June 2021, her replacement was confirmed to be former professional
Janette Manrara
Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is a singer, Cuban-American television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance ...
.
The show features reviews of the performances during the previous Saturday's show and interviews with, and training footage of, the couples preparing for the next show. The judges and other celebrities also provide their opinions on how the couples are progressing. ''It Takes Two'' replaced ''Strictly Come Dancing on Three'', hosted by
Justin Lee Collins
Justin Lee Collins (born 28 July 1974) is an actor and former radio and television presenter from Bristol, England.
Collins began his career as a stand up comedian in the 1990s when he was in his late teens. He then presented a number of TV sh ...
, which ran on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, curre ...
during the first series. Prior to 2010,
BBC Two Scotland
BBC Two Scotland ( gd, BBC Dhà Alba) was the national variation of BBC Two for BBC Scotland. It was broadcast via digital television and was the sister Scottish channel of BBC One Scotland and Gaelic-language BBC Alba. Unlike BBC One Scotland ...
aired the programme on four nights only, running its own Gaelic-language programming on Thursdays instead.
Series overview
Series 1 (2004)
In Spring 2004, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' commenced its first series. The professional dancers were Brendan Cole, Hanna Karttunen, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, John Byrnes, Paul Killick, Camilla Dallerup and Kylie Jones. This was the only series to air in the Spring/Summer (as of series 2, the programme airs from September/October to December each year). Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole were crowned the first winners. At 8 weeks, this was the shortest series.
Series 2 (2004)
In Autumn 2004, the second series commenced. Five of the eight original professionals returned: these were Brendan Cole, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, Paul Killick and Camilla Dallerup. There were also five new professionals: Darren Bennett, Ian Waite, Lilia Kopylova, Nicole Cutler and Hazel Newberry. This was the only series Newberry participated in, while the other professionals competed in the following series.
A new spin-off show called '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' presented by
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 ...
was created this series and has continued to air alongside each following series, now hosted by
Rylan Clark-Neal
Ross Richard Clark (born 25 October 1988), known professionally as Rylan, is an English broadcaster and model. He finished in fifth place on the ninth series of ''The X Factor'' in 2012, and the following year, he won the eleventh series of ...
and former professional dancer,
Janette Manrara
Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is a singer, Cuban-American television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance ...
on BBC Two.
Series 3 (2005)
In 2005, the third series commenced. Brendan Cole, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, Camilla Dallerup, Darren Bennett, Ian Waite and Lilia Kopylova returned from the second series. Nicole Cutler, Paul Killick and Hazel Newberry did not return. They were replaced by Karen Hardy, Hanna Haarala, Izabela Hannah, Andrew Cuerden and Matthew Cutler.
Series 4 (2006)
The fourth series ran from 7 October to 23 December 2006. More than 12 million votes were cast, raising £1.5 million for Children in Need. A peak of 13 million viewers tuned into the final show of series four to see Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy crowned 2006 ''Strictly Come Dancing'' champions.
This series introduced four new professional dancers: Flavia Cacace, James Jordan, Ola Jordan and Vincent Simone. Andrew Cuerden, Hanna Haarala and Izabela Hannah did not return to the programme. This series also saw the return of Nicole Cutler, who had taken part in series 2 but not in series 3.
Series 5 (2007)
The fifth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' began on BBC One on 29 September 2007, with Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returning as presenters. For the first and only time, the lineup of professionals was unchanged from the previous series. The first programme was a catch-up show and preview of the new series, before the start of the competition on 6 October, which ran for 12 weeks. This was the first time two married couples competed against each other.
The show featured 14 new celebrities, who were paired with 14 professional dancers. In a change to the previous format, the results show was recorded on Saturday and broadcast on Sunday, rather than shown live later on Saturday. In addition to this, the two couples who were at the bottom of the table after the public vote were subject to a dance-off, where they reprised their routine for the judges to decide who should leave the competition. Head Judge
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 ...
had the casting vote in the event of a tie. The series raised just over one million pounds for Children in Need.
Series 6 (2008)
A sixth series of the programme was confirmed after the dancers' pay dispute was called off in late June 2008. This series was the longest to date, lasting for 14 weeks. The series introduced three new professional dancers,
Brian Fortuna
Brian Fortuna (born September 20, 1982) is an American professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and Teacher, instructor.
Biography
Brian Fortuna is currently starring in Theatre Production's Limited ''Over the Rainbow'' as Danny Cassidy. H ...
,
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 ...
and
Kristina Rihanoff
Kristina Rihanoff (russian: Кристина Пшеничных,: Kristina Pshenichnykh; born 22 September 1977) is a world finalist professional ballroom dancer, instructor, choreographer and author.
She has a degree in Tourism and Hospitali ...
. Nicole Cutler did not return to the show.
The sixth series began on 13 September with a behind-the-scenes look at the new series, followed by the first live show on 20 September.
On 19 November 2008, John Sergeant announced that he would be leaving the show because he believed he may "win it".
Series 7 (2009)
The seventh series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' ran from 18 September until 19 December 2009. Tess Daly signed a two-year deal to continue presenting the programme for at least two more series (the 2009 and 2010 series).
On 9 July 2009, it was confirmed that the winner of the 2007 series (
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 ...
) would be joining the judging panel and that
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 ...
would be a guest judge towards the end of the series run. Dixon replaced
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 ...
, who moved to ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' as a ''Strictly Come Dancing'' expert. The BBC was accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show had been replaced, and the BBC received over 5,000 complaints. Dixon's fans were also unhappy as she had to cancel a number of dates on her autumn tour to appear on the programme. Karen Hardy, Camilla Dallerup and Hayley Holt did not return this series; they were replaced by Katya Virshilas, Aliona Vilani and Natalie Lowe.
The official lineup was revealed on 25 August 2009 and the winner was ''
BBC Breakfast
''BBC Breakfast'' is the BBC television Breakfast television, breakfast news programme. Produced by BBC News, the programme is broadcast on BBC One and the BBC News (TV channel), BBC News channel. The simulcast is presented live, originally from ...
The eighth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' began with a launch show on 11 September 2010; three weeks later, the live shows started on 1 October 2010. Three new professional dancers were announced: Artem Chigvintsev, Jared Murillo and Robin Windsor. Darren Bennett, Lilia Kopylova, Brian Fortuna and Matthew Cutler did not return. The celebrities were revealed on 8 September 2010 and their professional partners were revealed during the launch show.
Series 9 (2011)
Strictly returned with a launch show on 10 September 2011, with the final in December at the
Tower Ballroom, Blackpool
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 ...
.
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 to front the main show, and
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 the Sunday night results show along with Daly.
For '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'', a new presenter joined the team. Winkleman had to pull out of the 2011 series as it would be difficult to do a daily programme so soon after giving birth and was replaced by
Zoë Ball
Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...
.
All of series eight's judges returned to the show.
Jennifer Grey
Jennifer Grey (born March 26, 1960) is an American actress. She made her acting debut with the film ''Reckless'' (1984), and had her breakthrough with the teen comedy film '' Ferris Bueller's Day Off'' (1986). She subsequently earned worldwide ...
served as a cover judge for
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 ...
during week six due to his break from the show. This was the last series to feature
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 ...
as a judge after she left the show after the final to become a judge on ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...
''.
The professional lineup was announced on 15 June 2011, with most of the Series 8 professionals returning except for Jared Murillo, who was replaced by Siberian dancer
Pasha Kovalev
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.
Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance par ...
. The celebrity lineup was announced on 6 September 2011 on ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
'' and the couples were paired up for the first time on the launch show.
Series 10 (2012)
The tenth series began on 15 September 2012 with a launch show to reveal the celebrity-professional partnerships, and the live shows began on 5 October.
On 25 April 2012, it was confirmed that
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 ...
would be joining the judging panel, replacing
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 ...
who left the show to be a judge on ''
Britain's Got Talent
''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquially ...
''.
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 ...
was the only professional dancer not returning this series, and she was replaced by ''Burn the Floor''
Karen Hauer
Karen Hauer Wyn-Jones (formerly Clifton; born 20 April 1982) is a Venezuelan-American professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion, best known for her appearances on the British television series ''Strictly Come Dancing.'' She is ...
. The full lineup was revealed on 10 September during ''
The One Show
''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weeknights at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Jermaine Jenas, and Ronan K ...
''.
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 ...
was originally
Johnny Ball
Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball.
Early life
Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...
's partner, but injury resulted in her being replaced by Iveta Lukosiute.
Series 11 (2013)
Strictly Come Dancing returned for its eleventh series with a launch show on 7 September 2013 and the live shows on 27 September 2013.
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 ...
and
Jessie J
Jessica Ellen Cornish (born 27 March 1988), known professionally as Jessie J, is an English singer. Born and raised in London, she began her career on stage, aged 11, with a role in the West End musical '' Whistle Down the Wind''. She studied ...
performed on the premiere show.
On 1 June 2013, it was announced that
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 ...
,
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone (born 15 March 1979) is an Italian professional dancer, who has appeared as a professional dancer on '' Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 until 2012. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. Simone and prof ...
,
Flavia Cacace
Flavia Cacace-Mistry born 1980 is an Italian British professional dancer. Her professional dance partner is Vincent Simone (they are branded when performing together as 'Vincent and Flavia'), and for ten years both partners appeared on the BBC's ' ...
and
Erin Boag
Erin Boag (born 17 March 1975) is a professional ballroom dancer. She has danced from the age of three, originally starting ballet and later moving into ballroom dance, ballroom, Latin dance, Latin and Jazz dance, jazz. Born in Auckland, New Zeal ...
Emma Slater
Emma Slater (born December 25, 1988) is an English-American professional dancer and choreographer. She is best known for her appearances on '' Dancing with the Stars''.
Personal life
Emma Slater was raised in Tamworth, Staffordshire, England, ...
,
Janette Manrara
Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is a singer, Cuban-American television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance ...
and Iveta Lukosiute, who partnered
Johnny Ball
Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball.
Early life
Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...
in the first few weeks of series 10, would all join the cast. However, it was confirmed on 22 August 2013 that
Anya Garnis
Anna "Anya" Garnis (Russian: Анна "Аня" Гарнис; born May 26, 1982) is a Latvian American ballroom dancer based in New York City. In 2007 she was a finalist on the American reality television show ''So You Think You Can Dance.''
In 2 ...
and
Kevin Clifton
Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...
had joined the series, replacing Slater. On 2 September 2013, it was announced that a foot fracture injury meant that
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 ...
would not be able to participate that series, and she was replaced by returning professional Vilani.
Series 12 (2014)
The series started on 7 September 2014 with a launch show, followed by the live shows starting on 26 and 27 September. This series was the first not to be presented by
Sir 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 Nigh ...
after announcing his departure from the live shows on 4 April (he made his final regular appearance in this series' launch show). However, Forsyth would continue to present special editions of the show, such as Children in Need and Christmas specials. It was announced on 9 May that
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 ...
would join the main show as co-presenter and that her duties would mirror the existing result show format, with
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.
...
taking over Forsyth's role as main presenter and Winkleman taking Daly's role as co-presenter.
It was announced on 1 June 2014 that professional dancers
Artem Chigvintsev
Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev (russian: Артём Влади́мирович Чи́гвинцев; born 12 June 1982) is a Russian-American professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing.
Chigvintsev was a cast member of '' Burn the F ...
Anya Garnis
Anna "Anya" Garnis (Russian: Анна "Аня" Гарнис; born May 26, 1982) is a Latvian American ballroom dancer based in New York City. In 2007 she was a finalist on the American reality television show ''So You Think You Can Dance.''
In 2 ...
would not be returning for the new series, although Garnis would remain on the show's choreography team. It was also announced that
Tristan MacManus
Tristan MacManus (born 23 July 1982) is an Irish dancer and television presenter. He best known for his professional appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and '' Dancing with the Stars Australia''. In 2017, he wen ...
and
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
would be joining the show's professional line-up. It was then announced in August that
Robin Windsor
Robin Windsor (born 15 September 1979) is a British professional Latin and Ballroom dancer, best known for his appearances in the BBC television series '' Strictly Come Dancing''.
Personal life
Windsor was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew u ...
had pulled out of the competition due to a back injury. Windsor was replaced by new professional
Trent Whiddon
Trent Whiddon is an Australian people, Australian dancer and choreographer, best known for his professional appearances on the BBC One dance series ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Whiddon started dancing at the age of seven. His mother en ...
. In week three, entertainer
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...
joined the four regular judges, making the maximum score that week 50 points. Due to Winkleman's absence in weeks 6, 7 and 8, '' It Takes Two'' presenter
Zoë Ball
Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and '' The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & ...
co-presented with Daly.
Series 13 (2015)
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its thirteenth series with a launch show on 5 September 2015, followed by the live shows starting on 25 and 26 September.
On 23 April 2015, the list of professionals participating in the thirteenth series was revealed. Professionals from the last series who did not return included
Trent Whiddon
Trent Whiddon is an Australian people, Australian dancer and choreographer, best known for his professional appearances on the BBC One dance series ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Whiddon started dancing at the age of seven. His mother en ...
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
Robin Windsor
Robin Windsor (born 15 September 1979) is a British professional Latin and Ballroom dancer, best known for his appearances in the BBC television series '' Strictly Come Dancing''.
Personal life
Windsor was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, and grew u ...
, absent from the previous series because of injury, also did not return for this series. Three new professional dancers were introduced: Russian dancer
Gleb Savchenko
Gleb Savchenko (russian: Глеб Савченко; born 16 September 1983) is a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and model, who is currently a professional dancer on the U.S. version of ''Dancing with the Stars''. He previously appeare ...
(from the American, Australian and Russian versions of ''Dancing with the Stars''), South African dancer
Oti Mabuse
Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...
(from Germany's '' Let's Dance'') and Italian dancer
Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (201 ...
.
On 3 October 2015, the judges performed
The Strictly
''The Strictly'' is a signature dance routine from the BBC show '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which launched in the 13th series of the popular entertainment show. The dance was devised by ''Strictly Come Dancings Director of Choreography, Jason Gi ...
, a signature dance made up of some iconic moves from the show's history for fans to do at home when they hear the theme tune; subsequently, a tutorial for the dance was made available on the show's website and iPlayer hosted by
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 ...
and
Tristan MacManus
Tristan MacManus (born 23 July 1982) is an Irish dancer and television presenter. He best known for his professional appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and '' Dancing with the Stars Australia''. In 2017, he wen ...
.
Series 13 was the last to feature Tristan MacManus, Kristina Rihanoff, Ola Jordan, Gleb Savchenko and Aliona Vilani as professional dancers. Jordan later announced that she had quit the show, claiming that the results were "fixed". Vilani announced three days after winning that she was leaving the show; however, she participated in the 2016 live tour. Savchenko announced that he was leaving the show on 28 June 2016.
Series 14 (2016)
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its fourteenth series with a launch show on 3 September 2016 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 ...
. This was
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 ...
's final series as head judge.
On 28 June 2016, the list of professionals who were returning for the fourteenth series was revealed. Professionals from the last series who would not return included the previous series' champion and two-time professional winner of the show
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 ...
, former professional winner
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 ...
and two-time professional finalist
Kristina Rihanoff
Kristina Rihanoff (russian: Кристина Пшеничных,: Kristina Pshenichnykh; born 22 September 1977) is a world finalist professional ballroom dancer, instructor, choreographer and author.
She has a degree in Tourism and Hospitali ...
, as well as
Gleb Savchenko
Gleb Savchenko (russian: Глеб Савченко; born 16 September 1983) is a Russian-American dancer, choreographer, and model, who is currently a professional dancer on the U.S. version of ''Dancing with the Stars''. He previously appeare ...
and
Tristan MacManus
Tristan MacManus (born 23 July 1982) is an Irish dancer and television presenter. He best known for his professional appearances on ''Dancing with the Stars'', ''Strictly Come Dancing'' and '' Dancing with the Stars Australia''. In 2017, he wen ...
.
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
returned after a one-series hiatus. The leaving professionals were replaced by
Katya Jones
Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; rus, Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best-known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly ...
, ''
Burn the Floor
Burn the Floor is a live dance show which has performed around the world, including on Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in New York City and the West End of London, West End in London. Since 1997, Burn the Floor has performed in over 130 countries w ...
'' dancer
Gorka Márquez
Gorka Márquez (; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the ...
Oksana Platero
Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero ( ua, Оксана Дмитренко) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin dancer. She spent five seasons as a member of the troupe on Dancing with the Stars in the United States. She joined the United Kingdom's Strict ...
. On 26 July 2016, three more new professional dancers —
AJ Pritchard
Alex Joseph Pritchard (born 5 November 1994) is a British dancer and choreographer. In 2013, he auditioned for the seventh series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' along with professional partner Chloe Hewitt, where they reached the semi-finals. From ...
, Chloe Hewitt and Neil Jones, husband of new dancer Katya — were announced. Hewitt and Neil Jones did not partner a celebrity as the professionals outnumbered the celebrities, although they were still in group dances and appeared on ''It Takes Two''.
Series 15 (2017)
On 4 May 2017, it was announced that series 7 finalist
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 ...
would be departing the show. Five days later, on 9 May,
Shirley Ballas
Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles whi ...
announced that she would be replacing
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 ...
as head judge. On 21 June 2017,
Oksana Platero
Oksana (Dmytrenko) Platero ( ua, Оксана Дмитренко) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin dancer. She spent five seasons as a member of the troupe on Dancing with the Stars in the United States. She joined the United Kingdom's Strict ...
and the previous series' professional champion,
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
, announced that they would also be leaving. The new professionals replacing them were Australian Open champion
Dianne Buswell
Dianne Claire Buswell (born 6 May 1989) is an Australian professional dancer. She is best known for her appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. After competing on '' Dancing with the Stars'' in Australia, she joine ...
, Welsh dancer Amy Dowden, and Ukrainian two-time world champion
Nadiya Bychkova
Nadiya Bychkova ( uk, Надія Бичкова) (born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in ‘10’ Dance. In 20 ...
. On 7 August,
Nick Grimshaw
Nicholas Peter Andrew Grimshaw (born 14 August 1984), also known as Grimmy, is an English television and former radio presenter, podcaster and author. He became known for having hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1. He is also known as a t ...
announced that
Mollie King
Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of the Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit "What About U ...
was the first celebrity known to be taking part in the series. This was the first series to be broadcast since Sir Bruce Forsyth's death in August that year.
In a change to the format of the previous five years, there was no elimination in the final, meaning there were three runner-up couples this series.
Series 16 (2018)
On 30 January 2018, it was announced that
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, '' Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a ...
would no longer appear on the show. On 30 May 2018, the full lineup of professional dancers was announced. Chloe Hewitt left the series and three new professional dancers —
Graziano Di Prima
Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreographer.
Career
Di Prima was born in Sicily.
He toured with Burn the Floor, UK in 2021 alongside other professional dancers and the Strictly Come Dancing the Professionals Live ...
,
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
and
Luba Mushtuk
Luba Mushtuk (Russian: Люба Муштук; born 14 November 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Career
Mushtuk was four-time winner of the Italian Dance Championship and is al ...
— were announced to be joining the show. This meant that there were 18 professional dancers, the most in the show's history.
Series 17 (2019)
On 13 February 2019, professional dancer
Pasha Kovalev
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.
Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance par ...
announced that he was leaving the show after competing on it for eight years. On 10 April 2019, it was announced that judge
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 ...
had left the show after seven years. On 22 July 2019, Motsi Mabuse was announced as the replacement for Bussell. On 30 July 2019, it was announced that Nancy Xu would be joining the cast of professional dancers. On 5 September 2019, it was announced that
Jamie Laing
James Robin Grant Laing ( /ˈleɪŋ/ ; born 3 November 1988) is an English presenter, television personality and investor. He is the founder of the confectionery company Candy Kittens and best known for appearing on the reality television serie ...
had withdrawn from the show due to a foot injury. He was later replaced by
Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin Warren Fletcher (born 17 January 1984) is an English actor, model, racing driver and presenter. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he played from 1996 until 2016. In 2019, Fletcher won the seventeenth seri ...
. In late October,
Will Bayley
William John Bayley (born 17 January 1988) is a British professional Paralympic table tennis player, ranked world number 1. He is the 2016 Summer Paralympics Games gold medallist and the 2014 World Champion.
From September 2019 Bayley partic ...
left the competition due to a sustained leg injury.
Series 18 (2020)
On 6 March 2020,
Kevin Clifton
Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...
announced that he was leaving the show after seven years. On 26 March 2020,
AJ Pritchard
Alex Joseph Pritchard (born 5 November 1994) is a British dancer and choreographer. In 2013, he auditioned for the seventh series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' along with professional partner Chloe Hewitt, where they reached the semi-finals. From ...
also announced that he was leaving the show after four years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was confirmed that the series would be slightly shorter than planned. Before the series began, the professional dancers and some of the crew isolated and tested for COVID-19 to then become a household. ''Strictly'' took over a hotel near the studios and the pro dancers learnt and filmed all the group routines for the series at once. This allowed for the show to still include the professional group dances each week. On 21 August 2020, it was announced that
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 ...
would not be on the judging panel but would appear virtually while he filmed ''Dancing with the Stars'' in the US. It was the first series since 2012 to begin in October. On 12 November 2020,
Nicola Adams
Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, she became the first fe ...
and
Katya Jones
Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; rus, Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best-known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly ...
were forced to withdraw from the competition after Jones tested positive for
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. On 19 December 2020, Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse were crowned the winners of the series, making Mabuse the second professional dancer to win the show twice and the first to win it consecutively, following her 2019 victory. This series featured the first all-female and same-sex partnership of Nicola Adams and Katya Jones.
Series 19 (2021)
On 10 June 2021, it was announced that
Janette Manrara
Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is a singer, Cuban-American television presenter, choreographer and professional dancer from Miami, Florida, US. Originally a singer, learning from her Cuban family, she formally studied dance ...
would leave the show as a professional dancer and replace
Zoe Ball
Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British radio and television presenter. She was the first female host of both ''Radio 1 Breakfast'' and ''The Radio 2 Breakfast Show'' for the BBC, and presented the 1990s children's show ''Live & K ...
Anton Du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...
was announced as having joined the judging panel for this series instead of returning as a professional dancer, replacing
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 ...
, who missed a second year due to continuing travel restrictions imposed by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. In addition to the remaining fourteen professional dancers from Series 18, all of whom returned for this series, four new professional dancers joined the show: Cameron Lombard,
Jowita Przystał
Jowita Przystał (born 22 August 1994) is a Polish ballroom dancer. She is known for appearing on '' The Greatest Dancer'' and ''Strictly Come Dancing'' as a professional.
Career
Przystał and her partner Michael Danilczuk have represented Pola ...
,
Kai Widdrington
Kai Widdrington (born 23 August 1995) is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent''. Between 2017 and 2020, he was ...
and
Nikita Kuzmin
Nikita Kuzmin (Ukrainian: Нікіта Кузьмін; born 23 December 1997) is a Ukrainian dancer and choreographer. He is best known for being a professional dancer on the RTL and BBC One dance competitions '' Let's Dance'' and '' Strictly Co ...
.
This series marked the first time that two contestants withdrew from the competition. On 13 October 2021, Robert Webb withdrew from the competition due to health reasons. On 17 December 2021, AJ Odudu was forced to pull out of the final after tearing a ligament in her right ankle.
The series saw the first couple with a deaf contestant, actress
Rose Ayling-Ellis
Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis (born 17 November 1994) is an English actress. Deaf since birth, she is a British Sign Language user. She is best known for playing the role of Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2020–2022).
In 2 ...
and the first all-male partnership of
John Whaite
John Whaite (born 23 May 1989) is an English baker who won the third series of ''The Great British Bake Off'' in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author.
Early life
John Whaite was born in Chorley, Lancashire, and grew up o ...
and
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
. These contestants all reached the final and they finished as the winner and runner-ups respectively.
Series 20 (2022)
On 22 February 2022, Oti Mabuse announced that she was leaving the show after seven years. On 28 March 2022, it was announced that Aljaž Škorjanec was leaving after nine years of competing on the show. In addition to the remaining sixteen professional dancers from Series 19, all would return in this series, with four new professional dancers joining the show:
Carlos Gu
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its twentieth series with a launch show on 23 September 2022 on BBC One, with live shows beginning the following day on 24 September. The launch show was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 17 Septembe ...
,
Lauren Oakley
Lauren May Oakley (born 28 February 1991) is an English professional dancer and choreographer, best known for appearing as a professional on the BBC One television series ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Oakley was born on 28 February 19 ...
Vito Coppola
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its twentieth series with a launch show on 23 September 2022 on BBC One, with live shows beginning the following day on 24 September. The launch show was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 17 Septembe ...
. This meant that there were 20 professional dancers, the most in the show's history.
On 13 November 2022,
Tony Adams
Tony Alexander Adams (born 10 October 1966) is an English former football manager and player. Adams played for Arsenal and England, captaining both teams. He spent his entire playing career of 19 years as a centre back at Arsenal, making 672 ...
and
Katya Jones
Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; rus, Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best-known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly ...
were announced as one of the bottom two couples; however, due to Tony sustaining a hamstring injury from their original performance, they did not compete in the dance-off and withdrew from the competition.
Specials
Since the inception of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2004, several special editions of the show have been transmitted by the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...
each year. These have included seasonal specials, charity specials, and variations of the ''Strictly Come Dancing'' format.
''Strictly Come Dancing Live!''
''Strictly Come Dancing Live!'' is a nationwide arena tour staged every year since 2008.
Statistics
Highest-scoring celebrities
The scores presented below represent the best overall accumulative average scores the celebrities gained each series.
Note: Series 18 was scored out of 30 so scores have been altered to be out of the usual 40.
Female
Male
Lowest-scoring celebrities
The scores presented below represent the worst overall accumulative average score the celebrities gained each series.
Note: Series 18 was scored out of 30 so scores have been altered to be out of the usual 40.
Female
Male
Judges' scores
On 86 occasions, a perfect 40 out of 40 has been awarded inside the main series (including three perfect 50 out of 50s and six perfect 30 out of 30s in Series 7 and Series 18 respectively).
Ashley Roberts
Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a member of the pop/ R&B girl group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls.
Roberts released her debut solo studio album, ''Butterfly E ...
and
Pasha Kovalev
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.
Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance par ...
hold the record for most perfect scores achieved by an individual couple, with five 40s; Kovalev also holds the record for most perfect scores by a professional dancer, with thirteen. Additionally, another sixteen perfect 40s have been awarded during the Christmas Special episodes. The only dance styles to have never received a perfect score are
Rock 'n' Roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
,
Rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
and
Contemporary
Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from approximately 1945 to the present. Contemporary history is either a subset of the late modern period, or it is o ...
.
Ali Bastian
Alexandra Louise Bastian (born 27 February 1982) is an English actress, known for her roles as Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', Sally Armstrong in the ITV drama series ''The Bill'' and Becky Clarke in the BBC soap opera '' ...
,
Tilly Ramsay
Matilda Elizabeth Ramsay (born 8 November 2001) is an English television presenter, chef and social media influencer best known for presenting the BBC cooking show ''Matilda and the Ramsay Bunch'' on CBBC alongside her family. Ramsay has made n ...
and
Rhys Stephenson
Rhys Stephenson (born 29 October 1993) is an English television presenter and actor. He has presented on CBBC since 2016.
Early life
Stephenson was born in Lewisham, London. He began starring in school theatre productions at the age of ten. He ...
are the only contestants to have scored 40 and not made it to the final;
AJ Odudu
Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu (born 12 February 1988) is a British television presenter from Blackburn, UK. She is best known for co-presenting the 2013 Channel 5 reality show spin-off ''Big Brother's Bit on the Side'', alongside Emma Willis and Rylan ...
did make it through to the final, but had to withdraw due to an injury. Series 19 champion
Rose Ayling-Ellis
Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis (born 17 November 1994) is an English actress. Deaf since birth, she is a British Sign Language user. She is best known for playing the role of Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2020–2022).
In 2 ...
and Series 12 champion
Caroline Flack
Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television and radio presenter and actress. She won the twelfth series of BBC’s ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2014 and presented ''The X Factor'' and later '' Love Isl ...
hold the joint record for the most 40s received by a winner, with 4 each.
Below is a table showing all perfect scores achieved by numerical amount.
By Celebrity:
By Professional:
The lowest score ever given by the judges is 8/40 (1,1,3,3), awarded to
Quentin Willson
Quentin Willson (born 23 July 1957) is an English TV presenter, motoring journalist, author, TV producer and former car dealer, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes ''Britain's Worst Driver'', ''Fifth Gear'', and ...
and
Hazel Newberry
Hazel Catherine Newberry MBE is one of the United Kingdom's leading ballroom dancers and dance teachers. She was three times undefeated World Professional Ballroom champion, dancing with Christopher Hawkins (2002–2004).
The couple also won ...
for their
Cha-Cha-Cha
Cha cha cha may refer to:
* ''Cha-cha-chá'' (music), a style of Cuban dance music
* Cha-cha-cha (dance), a Latin American dance accompanying the music
Film and television
* ''Cha Cha Cha'' (film), a 2013 Italian crime film
* ''Cha Cha Cha'' ...
. Eleven individual scores of 1 have been awarded over the entirety of Strictly Come Dancing, with ten of those coming from
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 ...
and the other coming from
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 ...
.
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician, author and television personality. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010 and Member of the E ...
holds the current record for the most 1s, receiving them from Horwood for her
Salsa
Salsa most often refers to:
* Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments
* Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music
* Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music
Salsa or SALSA may also refer to:
A ...
,
Samba
Samba (), also known as samba urbano carioca (''urban Carioca samba'') or simply samba carioca (''Carioca samba''), is a Brazilian music genre that originated in the Afro-Brazilian communities of Rio de Janeiro in the early 20th century. Havin ...
, and
Rumba
The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...
.
The biggest margin of points awarded between two individual judges' scores is 5, awarded to Jason Wood and Kylie Jones for their Rumba (2,5,7,5),
Christopher Parker
Christopher Parker (born 24 August 1983) is an English actor and television presenter, best known for portraying Spencer Moon on BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' between 2002 and 2005.
Early career
Christopher Parker's career began at an e ...
and
Hanna Karttunen
Hanna Karttunen (born in Oulu, Finland) is a Finnish professional Latin American and exhibition dancer. She also trained in ballet as a child, having a love of dance from a very early age.
Specialising in Latin American and representing England wi ...
for their
Tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
(2,6,7,6),
Fiona Phillips
Fiona Phillips (born 1 January 1961) is an English journalist, broadcaster and television presenter. She is best known for her presenting roles with the ITV Breakfast programme ''GMTV Today''.
Early life
Phillips was born in Canterbury Hospit ...
and
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, '' Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a ...
for their Rumba (1,2,6,4),
Gary Rhodes
Gary Rhodes (22 April 1960 – 26 November 2019) was an English restaurateur and television chef, known for his love of English cuisine and ingredients and for his distinctive spiked hair style. He fronted shows such as ''MasterChef'', ''Mast ...
and
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 ...
for their Cha-Cha-Cha (1,5,6,5),
Scott Maslen
Scott Alexander Maslen (born 25 June 1971) is an English actor and model, best known for his portrayal as DS Phil Hunter in ITV's ''The Bill'' and Jack Branning on the BBC's flagship soap ''EastEnders'' since 2007. He also took part in the 2010 ...
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 ...
for their Rumba (4,9,7,8),
Mark Benton
Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...
Scott Mills
Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...
and
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
for their Samba (2,5,7,5,6 – with the higher vote given by
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond (born December 9, 1957) is an American singer, dancer, actor, television host, and former teen idol. He first gained fame performing with four of his elder brothers as the Osmonds, earning several top ten hits and gol ...
), Ann Widdecombe and
Anton Du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...
for their
American Smooth
This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those.
This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of highl ...
in the 2018 Christmas Special (2,6,7,7) and Dan Walker and
Nadiya Bychkova
Nadiya Bychkova ( uk, Надія Бичкова) (born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in ‘10’ Dance. In 20 ...
for their American Smooth (4,8,8,9). The biggest margin between two total scores in one week is 27, occurring in the third week of the seventeenth series when
Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin Warren Fletcher (born 17 January 1984) is an English actor, model, racing driver and presenter. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he played from 1996 until 2016. In 2019, Fletcher won the seventeenth seri ...
and
Oti Mabuse
Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...
scored 38 and
Anneka Rice
Anne Lucinda Hartley Rice (born 4 October 1958), known professionally as Anneka Rice, is a Welsh-born television and radio presenter, broadcaster, journalist and painter.
Early life and education
Rice was born in Cowbridge, Glamorgan, Wales, ...
and
Kevin Clifton
Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...
scored 11.
Alexandra Burke
Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is a British singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the British television series ''The X Factor'' in 2008, and has been signed to Epic Records, RCA Records and Syc ...
and her partner
Gorka Márquez
Gorka Márquez (; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Early life
Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the ...
and
Ashley Roberts
Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American singer, dancer, and media personality. She is a member of the pop/ R&B girl group and dance ensemble The Pussycat Dolls.
Roberts released her debut solo studio album, ''Butterfly E ...
and her partner
Pasha Kovalev
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (russian: Па́вел "Па́ша" Ковалёв) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.
Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2001, moved to the United States with his professional dance par ...
share the record of most 10s awarded to a couple, with 32. This is followed by
Faye Tozer
Faye Louise Tozer (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer, dancer, and actress, best known as a member of British pop group Steps.
Career
Music
Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their ...
and
Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (201 ...
with 31, then
Rose Ayling-Ellis
Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis (born 17 November 1994) is an English actress. Deaf since birth, she is a British Sign Language user. She is best known for playing the role of Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2020–2022).
In 2 ...
and Giovanni Pernice with 30, then
Karim Zeroual
Karim Zeroual (born 14 November 1993) is a British television presenter and actor.
Early life
Zeroual was born in London to parents of Moroccan heritage and was brought up by his mother. He attended theatre school in London.
Stage and televisi ...
Ricky Whittle
Richard George Whittle (born 31 December 1979) is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. I ...
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 ...
and
John Whaite
John Whaite (born 23 May 1989) is an English baker who won the third series of ''The Great British Bake Off'' in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author.
Early life
John Whaite was born in Chorley, Lancashire, and grew up o ...
and
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
each with 28. However, if the four tens given by
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 ...
during her tenure as a fifth judge are removed, Whittle is behind
Oti Mabuse
Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...
and her respective celebrity partners
Danny Mac
Danny Mac (born 26 February 1988) is an English actor, best known for playing the role of Dodger Savage in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' from 2011 to 2015.
Early and personal life
Mac was born in Bromley, London, but then grew up in ...
and
Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin Warren Fletcher (born 17 January 1984) is an English actor, model, racing driver and presenter. He played Andy Sugden in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', a role he played from 1996 until 2016. In 2019, Fletcher won the seventeenth seri ...
and
Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and radio presenter on Hits Radio. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addicti ...
with
Vito Coppola
''Strictly Come Dancing'' returned for its twentieth series with a launch show on 23 September 2022 on BBC One, with live shows beginning the following day on 24 September. The launch show was originally scheduled to be broadcast on 17 Septembe ...
, both with 26 tens, and
Rachel Stevens
Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer, television personality, actress and businesswoman. She was a member of the pop group S Club 7 between 1999 and 2003. She released her solo debut studio album ''Funky Dory'' in Sep ...
with
Vincent Simone
Vincent Simone (born 15 March 1979) is an Italian professional dancer, who has appeared as a professional dancer on '' Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 until 2012. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. Simone and prof ...
and
Harry Judd
Harry Mark Christopher Judd (born 23 December 1985) is an English musician, dancer and author. He is the drummer for the band McFly. Judd won the 2011 series of ''Strictly Come Dancing''.
Judd published his first book, ''Get Fit Get Happy'', in ...
with
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 ...
with 25 each. They are followed by
Natalie Gumede
Natalie Gumede (born 20 March 1984) is an English actress. She is known for playing Kirsty Soames in the ITV soap opera, ''Coronation Street'', from 2011 to 2013. She previously played China in BBC Three comedy show ''Ideal''. She has also appe ...
and
Artem Chigvintsev
Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev (russian: Артём Влади́мирович Чи́гвинцев; born 12 June 1982) is a Russian-American professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing.
Chigvintsev was a cast member of '' Burn the F ...
and
Ore Oduba
Ore Oduba (born 17 November 1986) is a British television and radio presenter who has also worked as an actor. He is best known for winning the fourteenth series of BBC One's ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2016.
He presented the CBBC news program ...
and
Joanne Clifton
Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...
and
Hamza Yassin
Hamza Ahmed Yassin (born 22 February 1990) is a Sudanese-British wildlife cameraman and presenter, known for his role as Ranger Hamza on the children's television channel CBeebies and his work on shows such as ''Countryfile'' and ''Animal Park' ...
and
Jowita Przystał
Jowita Przystał (born 22 August 1994) is a Polish ballroom dancer. She is known for appearing on '' The Greatest Dancer'' and ''Strictly Come Dancing'' as a professional.
Career
Przystał and her partner Michael Danilczuk have represented Pola ...
with 24 each,
Caroline Flack
Caroline Louise Flack (9 November 1979 – 15 February 2020) was an English television and radio presenter and actress. She won the twelfth series of BBC’s ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2014 and presented ''The X Factor'' and later '' Love Isl ...
and Pasha Kovalev with 23,
Abbey Clancy
Abigail Marie Clancy (born 10 January 1986) is an English lingerie and catwalk model, and television personality. She was the runner-up of '' Britain's Next Top Model (cycle 2)'' in 2006 and won series 11 of '' Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2013. ...
Debbie McGee
Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her ...
and Giovanni Pernice with 22,
Kara Tointon
Kara Louise Tointon (born 5 August 1983) is an English actress, known for portraying the role of Dawn Swann in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders''. In 2010, she won the BBC competition series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', and in 2015, she appeared as ...
and Artem Chigvintsev with 21 and
Lisa Snowdon
Lisa Snowdon 7 May 2001, ''People'' (born Lisa Snawdon on 23 January 1972) is an English television an ...
and
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, '' Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a ...
,
Kimberley Walsh
Kimberley Jane Scott (née Walsh; born 20 November 1981) is an English singer, fashion designer, model, variety performer, television presenter, actress and dancer. She rose to fame in late 2002 when she auditioned for the reality series '' Po ...
and Pasha Kovalev and Denise van Outen and James Jordan with 20. Of the above pairings, Snowdon and Cole, Flack and Kovalev, Tozer and Pernice and Roberts and Kovalev are the only pairings to receive straight tens for all of their dances in their respective series finals. Flack and Kovalev, Tozer and Pernice and Roberts and Kovalev are the only pairs to receive three sets of perfect 40s in the final. Of these couples, Roberts and Kovalev and Flack and Kovalev also hold the records for the judges longest consecutive streak of 40s, with four, both stretching from the second performance of the semi-final to the end of the final. Meanwhile, Pernice holds the record for the most 10s received by a professional, with 98, whilst Ayling-Ellis holds the record for the most 10s received by a series champion, with 30.
Roberts and Kovalev also hold the record for the best overall average score from the judges, receiving an average of 36.94/40 for their dances. Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev, and Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse follow, with averages of 36.88 and 36.62 respectively. Quentin Willson and Hazel Newberry hold the record for the lowest average score, with 8.0/40; they are followed by
Susannah Constantine
Susannah Caroline Constantine (born 3 June 1962) is an English former TV fashion 'guru', fashion writer, style advisor, television fashion presenter, author and clothes designer. Her second book, ''What Not to Wear'', co-written with her fas ...
and Anton Du Beke and
James Cracknell
James Edward Cracknell, (born 5 May 1972) is a British athlete, rowing champion and double Olympic gold medalist. Cracknell was appointed OBE for "services to sport" in the 2005 New Year Honours List.
Biography
Cracknell began rowing whilst ...
and
Luba Mushtuk
Luba Mushtuk (Russian: Люба Муштук; born 14 November 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Career
Mushtuk was four-time winner of the Italian Dance Championship and is al ...
, both with an overall average of 12.0/40.
Highest and lowest scoring performances by dance
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks (out of 40) are as follows, not including scores earned at Christmas or on any other specials.
For a more accurate comparison
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 ...
's scores have been subtracted from the totals of the Series 7 quarter-finalists where relevant; specifically
Ali Bastian
Alexandra Louise Bastian (born 27 February 1982) is an English actress, known for her roles as Becca Dean in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', Sally Armstrong in the ITV drama series ''The Bill'' and Becky Clarke in the BBC soap opera '' ...
Ricky Whittle
Richard George Whittle (born 31 December 1979) is a British actor. Whittle first came to prominence as a model for Reebok in the early 2000s. He is known in the United Kingdom for his role as Calvin Valentine in the soap opera ''Hollyoaks''. I ...
's Quickstep; Bussell scored all of them a ten. Whittle's Showdance has not been included as it did not receive the perfect score from Bussell, and therefore cannot be considered the same standard. Seasons having a maximum of 30 points (18) have been converted to a 40-point base.
The Showdance has received the most perfect scores of any dance, with fifteen; however, if it is disregarded based on being a routine specific to the final, the Charleston has received the most perfect scores of the regularly performed dances, with eleven. Contemporary, Rock 'n' Roll and Rumba are the only dances to have not received the full mark of 40, with the highest score for Contemporary and Rumba being 39 and the highest score for Rock 'n' Roll being 31. However, as Contemporary and Rock ‘n’ Roll are no longer danced on the show, the Rumba is the only dance style which is currently performed to have never received a 40.
Oldest and youngest contestants and series winners
Television presenter
Johnny Ball
Johnny Ball (born Graham Thalben Ball; 23 May 1938) is an English television personality, a populariser of mathematics and the father of BBC Radio 2 DJ Zoe Ball.
Early life
Ball was born in Bristol and attended Kingswood Primary School on th ...
, who was 74 when he competed in 2012, remains the oldest contestant to take part in Strictly Come Dancing; he was older than magician
Paul Daniels
Newton Edward Daniels (6 April 1938 – 17 March 2016), known professionally as Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television presenter. He achieved international fame through his television series '' The Paul Daniels Magic Show'', whic ...
and actress
Lesley Joseph
Lesley Diana Joseph (born 14 October 1945) is an English actress and broadcaster, best known for playing Dorien Green in the television sitcom '' Birds of a Feather'' from 1989 to 1998 and again from 2014 to 2020. Other television credits incl ...
, who were aged 72 and 71 when they competed in 2010 & 2016 respectively. Actress
Louisa Lytton
Louisa Claire Lytton (born 7 February 1989) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Ruby Allen in ''EastEnders'' and Beth Green in ''The Bill''. She also finished fourth in the fourth series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' in 2006 ...
, who was 17 when she competed in 2006, remains the youngest ever contestant.Louisa Lytton at Ultimate Strictly . Retrieved 10 December 2013
Comedian
Bill Bailey
Mark Robert Bailey (born 13 January 1965), known professionally as Bill Bailey, is an English musician, comedian and actor. He is known for his role as Manny in the sitcom ''Black Books'' and his appearances on the panel shows ''Never Mind the ...
, who was 55 when he competed in 2020, is the oldest series winner, while gymnast Louis Smith, who was 23 when he competed in 2012, is the youngest series winner. At 19,
Maisie Smith
Maisie Louise Collender Smith (born 9 July 2001) is an English actress and singer. She appeared in the feature film ''The Other Boleyn Girl'' (2008) and played the regular role of Tiffany Butcher in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 2008 ...
is the youngest contestant to make it to the final, while at the age of 61, Dr. Pamela Stephenson remains the oldest.
Other series statistics
Series 8 quarter-finalist
Ann Widdecombe
Ann Noreen Widdecombe (born 4 October 1947) is a British politician, author and television personality. She was Member of Parliament (MP) for Maidstone and The Weald, and the former Maidstone constituency, from 1987 to 2010 and Member of the E ...
holds the record for the most lowest-scoring dances, with her highest score given being 21/40 and her lowest being 12/40.
Series 13 contestant
Jamelia
'
Jamelia Niela Davis (born 11 January 1981) is an English singer, songwriter and television presenter. She has released three studio albums, each of which has reached the Top 40 in the UK, which collectively have spawned eight UK top-ten singl ...
holds the record for being in the most dance-offs, which is 5, and shares the record for ''surviving'' the most dance-offs with series 18 runner-up,
Jamie Laing
James Robin Grant Laing ( /ˈleɪŋ/ ; born 3 November 1988) is an English presenter, television personality and investor. He is the founder of the confectionery company Candy Kittens and best known for appearing on the reality television serie ...
and series 20 runners-up
Molly Rainford
Molly Anne Rainford (born 22 November 2000) is an English singer, actress and television presenter. She was a finalist on the sixth series of ''Britain's Got Talent'' in 2012 and was one of the presenters on ''Friday Download'' between 2014 an ...
and
Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer-songwriter, rapper and radio presenter on Hits Radio. She competed on the second series of the televised singing competition ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as a member of the girl group Addicti ...
, which is 4. Series 1 semi-finalist
Lesley Garrett
Lesley Garrett, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 10 April 1955) is an English soprano singer, musician, broadcaster and media personality. She is noted for being at home in opera and "crossover music".
Early life
Garrett was born in the ...
, Series 11 contestant
Mark Benton
Mark Benton (born 16 November 1965) is an English actor and television presenter known for his roles as Eddie in ''Early Doors'', Howard in '' Northern Lights'' and Martin Pond in '' Barbara''. Benton has also starred in the BBC One school-based ...
and Series 17 contestant
Mike Bushell
Mike Bushell is an English sports presenter for the BBC. He presents the sport on ''BBC Breakfast'' on Thursdays, Fridays and at the weekends, and sometimes on other weekdays. Bushell holds the world record for participating in the greatest num ...
share the record for being in the most consecutive bottom twos, which is 4.
Series 18 finalist HRVY and Series 19 champion
Rose Ayling-Ellis
Rose Lucinda Ayling-Ellis (born 17 November 1994) is an English actress. Deaf since birth, she is a British Sign Language user. She is best known for playing the role of Frankie Lewis in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders'' (2020–2022).
In 2 ...
share the record for the earliest ever perfect score in the competition, both earned in Week 6 for their Street/Commercial and
Tango
Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...
respectively.
Controversies
Phone voting
On 13 December 2008, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' became the subject of press attention and viewer complaints about an error in the voting system during the semi-final of series six. In the show, three couples remained in the competition. After all three had performed and the judges had given their scores, two of the couples were in joint-first position on the leaderboard, while the third — Tom Chambers and
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 ...
— were in last place. This meant that, no matter how many public votes were cast in their favour, it was mathematically impossible for the third-placed couple to remain in the competition. This oversight was initially unnoticed by producers until after the public vote became live and viewers were invited to call in and save their favourites at a cost of 15p per vote. Once the mistake was finally realised and the public vote was closed, it was announced that all three couples would be put through to the final, all the votes already cast would count towards the final result of the competition, and viewers could apply for a refund if they wished.
The BBC received 1800 complaints about the incident, while media regulator
Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
received 297. Jon Beazley, the BBC's Head of Entertainment Production, was interviewed on ''Strictly'''s spin-off show '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on 15 December. He apologised for the oversight, referring to it as an "unprecedented situation". On the same day, the BBC posted a statement on its website, which clarified that an independent adjudicator had been consulted to reach a solution that would offer "fairness to the viewers who voted and the contestants themselves". The BBC also stated that, following the mistake, "the voting and judging mechanisms used in all BBC voting programmes adbeen thoroughly examined".
After conducting an investigation, Ofcom concluded that "the mistake had resulted from an oversight, rather than any shortcomings in the technical arrangements for voting or in the handling of votes received", and that they were "satisfied that appropriate steps were taken by the BBC and the disadvantage to viewers minimised". Ofcom also opined that "the BBC had been open and transparent with viewers about the mistake it made and the solution adopted".
Arlene Phillips / Alesha Dixon
In June 2009, tabloid newspaper '' The Sun'' reported that the then 66-year-old judge
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 ...
, who had judged the show since its
inception
''Inception'' is a 2010 science fiction action film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, who also produced the film with Emma Thomas, his wife. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a professional thief who steals information by infiltr ...
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 ...
, then aged 30. This was later confirmed by the BBC in July of that year. Subsequently, the BBC was accused of
ageism
Ageism, also spelled agism, is discrimination against individuals or groups on the basis of their age. The term was coined in 1969 by Robert Neil Butler to describe discrimination against seniors, and patterned on sexism and racism. Butler defi ...
and
sexism
Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...
by several sources, an accusation the corporation has faced before over the removal of several older female presenters, including
Moira Stuart
Moira Clare Ruby Stuart, (born 2 September 1949) is a British presenter and broadcaster. She was the first female newsreader of Caribbean heritage to appear on British national television, having worked on BBC News since 1981.Juliet Morris,
Miriam O'Reilly
Miriam O'Reilly (born 16 February 1957 in Balbriggan, County Dublin) is an Irish television presenter. Until 2009, she was a presenter on the BBC One rural affairs show ''Countryfile''.
Early life
The daughter of an Irish farmer who came to E ...
,
Michaela Strachan
Michaela Evelyn Ann Strachan (born 7 April 1966) is an English television presenter and singer.
Early life
Born in Ewell, Surrey, Strachan grew up in Hinchley Wood and attended Chadsworth Stage School, then Claremont Fan Court School, both in ...
Anna Ford
Anna Ford (born 2 October 1943) is an English former journalist, television presenter and newsreader. She first worked as a researcher, news reporter and later newsreader for Granada Television, ITN, and the BBC. Ford helped launch the British ...
. The BBC denied the allegations that the decision to remove Phillips was due to her age.
Furthermore, Dixon herself was criticised after the debut episode of the seventh series, the first to feature her as a judge. A total of 272 complaints were received by the BBC – bringing the total number about Dixon joining the programme to over 4000 – along with over 5000 comments on ''Strictly Come Dancing'''s internet message board. Dixon was compared unfavourably to Phillips, with claims that the former was "unsuitable", "unqualified" and lacked "knowledge, experience and talent". However, Dixon was praised and defended from her critics by the BBC, by fellow judge
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 ...
Anton Du Beke
Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One cele ...
issued a public apology for his use of a
racial slur
The following is a list of ethnic slurs or ethnophaulisms or ethnic epithets that are, or have been, used as insinuations or allegations about members of a given ethnicity or racial group or to refer to them in a derogatory, pejorative, or oth ...
during a conversation with his dance partner
Laila Rouass
Laila Rouass (née Abdesselam) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Amber Gates in ''Footballers' Wives'' (2004–2006) and Sahira Shah in ''Holby City'' (2011–2012, 2021). She has also starred in ''Primeval'' and '' ...
. Du Beke claimed that the comment, which was never broadcast, was a joke referring to Rouass' spray-tan, in which he said that she "looked like a Paki". Over 600 complaints were received by the BBC, including those about comments
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 ...
, then host of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', made about the controversy on a Talksport radio programme, in which he suggested that Britain "used to have a sense of humour" about such incidents, and that Du Beke's apology should be accepted.
Following the incident, and Forsyth's response, the BBC stated:
Racially offensive language in the workplace is entirely unacceptable. Anton was right to apologise quickly and without reservation and Laila has wholly accepted his apology. Everyone is very clear that there can be no repetition of this behaviour.
Forsyth also clarified his position:
What Anton said to Laila was wrong and he has apologised unreservedly for this. Nor do I in any way excuse or condone the use of such language. To be absolutely clear, the use of racially offensive language is never either funny or acceptable. However, there is a major difference between this and racist comments which are malicious in intent and whilst I accept that we live in a world of extraordinary political correctness, we should keep things in perspective.
Same-sex couples
In 2015, in an interview with the ''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print ...
'', CJ de Mooi said that he was turned down for the show because he had wanted to dance with a same-sex partner. The BBC denied that de Mooi had ever been under consideration for the show, and also declared that "''Strictly'' is a family show and we have chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples". The press has reported on the issue on numerous occasions when gay celebrities have appeared on the show, including
Will Young
William Robert Young (born 20 January 1979) is a British singer-songwriter and actor who came to prominence after winning the 2002 Pop Idol (series 1), inaugural series of the ITV (TV network), ITV talent contest ''Pop Idol'', making him the f ...
,
Susan Calman
Susan Grace Calman (born 6 November 1974) is a Scottish comedian, television presenter, writer and panellist on a number of BBC Radio 4 shows including ''The News Quiz'' and ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''.
She has written and starred in two se ...
,
Robert Rinder
Robert Michael Rinder (; born 31 May 1978) better known as Judge Rinder, is a British criminal barrister and television personality. In 2014, while still a practising barrister, he began hosting the reality television#Reality court shows, real ...
,
Richard Coles
Richard Keith Robert Coles (born 26 March 1962) is an English writer, radio presenter and Church of England clergyman who was the vicar of Finedon in Northamptonshire from 2011 to 2022. He first came to prominence as the multi-instrumentalist ...
and
Ranj Singh
Ranjit "Ranj" Singh Sangha (born 26 June 1979) is a British doctor, television presenter, author and columnist. He is best known as a celebrity dancer on the BBC One dance series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', and co-creating and presenting the C ...
. ''Strictly Come Dancing'' judges Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood have both expressed their support for introducing same-sex couples.
Same-sex partnerships have been featured on several international versions of the show, including
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(2011),
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
(2015),
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
(2019) and
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
(2019). On 3 November 2019,
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
and fellow professional
Graziano Di Prima
Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreographer.
Career
Di Prima was born in Sicily.
He toured with Burn the Floor, UK in 2021 alongside other professional dancers and the Strictly Come Dancing the Professionals Live ...
performed together to Emeli Sande's "Shine" on the Sunday results episode, the show's first individual same-sex dance. On 2 September 2020, it was announced that boxer
Nicola Adams
Nicola Virginia Adams (born 26 October 1982) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2017 to 2019. She retired with an undefeated record and held the WBO female flyweight title in 2019. As an amateur, she became the first fe ...
would feature in the show's first same-sex couple for its eighteenth series. She was partnered with professional dancer
Katya Jones
Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; rus, Екатерина Андреевна Соколова; 12 May 1989) is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best-known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly ...
. In 2021, it was announced that
John Whaite
John Whaite (born 23 May 1989) is an English baker who won the third series of ''The Great British Bake Off'' in 2012. He works as a chef, television presenter, and author.
Early life
John Whaite was born in Chorley, Lancashire, and grew up o ...
would feature in the first all-male same-sex couple with
Johannes Radebe
Johannes Radebe (born 27 April 1987) is a South African dancer and choreographer.
Early life
Radebe was born in Zamdela. He is gay, and has spoken out about the homophobic bullying he received as a child. He and his sister attended a dance scho ...
JoJo Siwa
Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa (; born May 19, 2003) is an American dancer, singer, actress and YouTuber. She is known for appearing for two seasons on ''Dance Moms'' along with her mother, Jessalynn Siwa, and for her singles "Boomerang" and "Kid in ...
&
Jenna Johnson
Jenna Leigh Johnson (born September 11, 1967) is an American former competition swimmer and Olympic gold medalist.
As a 16-year-old, Johnson represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California. She won three m ...
. Series 20 also included
same-sex partnerships with Richie Anderson and
Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (201 ...
in an all-male partnership and
Jayde Adams
Jayde Pricilla Gail Adams (born 26 November 1984) is a British comedian, actress, writer and opera singer from Bristol. She is the winner of the 2014 Funny Women Award.
Career
Adams started performing stand-up comedy in 2011, following the pr ...
and
Karen Hauer
Karen Hauer Wyn-Jones (formerly Clifton; born 20 April 1982) is a Venezuelan-American professional Latin dance specialist and World Mambo Champion, best known for her appearances on the British television series ''Strictly Come Dancing.'' She is ...
in an all-female partnership.
''Strictly'' curse
The so-called "''Strictly'' curse" has been blamed for the number of affairs and relationship break-ups that have occurred during or soon after taking part in the show. The first such incident was the suggested affair between dancer
Brendan Cole
Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, '' Strictly Come Dancing''. From 2005 to 2009, he was a ...
and newsreader
Natasha Kaplinsky
Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...
during the initial series: they both denied the affair, but the surrounding controversy resulted in the ending of both their long-term relationships.
COVID vaccinations
In September 2021, '' The Sun'' reported that at least three unnamed professional dancers had allegedly refused to get a
COVID vaccine
A COVID19 vaccine is a vaccine intended to provide acquired immunity against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 ( COVID19).
Prior to the COVID19 pandemic, an e ...
. A report in ''
The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' claimed ''
The Mail on Sunday
''The Mail on Sunday'' is a British conservative newspaper, published in a tabloid format. It is the biggest-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK and was launched in 1982 by Lord Rothermere. Its sister paper, the '' Daily Mail'', was first pu ...
'' had attempted to name some of the unvaccinated dancers but was met with "strong pushback" from their lawyers. Amy Dowden,
Oti Mabuse
Otlile "Oti" Mabuse (born 8 August 1990) is a South African talent show judge, presenter, dancer and Latin dance champion currently based in the United Kingdom. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the British television series ' ...
, and
Giovanni Pernice
Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (201 ...
have all publicly confirmed that they are vaccinated.
Judges
Shirley Ballas
Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance adjudicator. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles whi ...
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 ...
are all vaccinated.
Ratings
An example of ''Strictly Come Dancing''s popularity is that, after episodes, electricity use in the United Kingdom rises significantly as viewers who have waited for the show to end begin boiling water for
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of '' Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and northe ...
, a phenomenon known as
TV pick-up
TV pickup is a phenomenon in the United Kingdom that involves surges in demand on the electrical grid, occurring when a large number of people simultaneously watch the same television programme. TV pickup occurs when viewers take advantage of com ...
. National Grid personnel watch the show to know when
closing credits
Closing credits or end credits are a list of the Cast member, cast and Film crew, crew of a particular Film, motion picture, television program, or video game. Where opening credits appear at the beginning of a work, closing credits appear clos ...
BARB
Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to:
People
* Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
* Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves
* The Barbs, a band
Places
* Barb, ...
. Series averages exclude Christmas special and launch show.
Awards
The show has won a highly prestigious
Rose D'Or
The Rose d'Or ('Golden Rose') is an international awards festival in entertainment broadcasting and programming. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) first acquired the Rose d’Or in 1961, when it was created by Swiss Television in the lakesi ...
award for 'Best Variety Show', beating off competition from reality shows from twelve other different countries. It has also won two awards for 'Best Reality Show' at the
TRIC Awards
The Television and Radio Industries Club (widely known as TRIC) is a British institution chartered in 1931 to "promote goodwill in the television and radio industries". The Club holds an annual awards ceremony each March honouring achievement in te ...
and two at the
TV Quick
''TV Quick'' was a British weekly television listing magazine published by H Bauer Publishing, the UK subsidiary of family-run German company Bauer Media Group. It featured weekly television listings running from Saturday to Friday, and began pub ...
Awards for 'Best Talent Show'. It has also received four
BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
nominations.
The show won the award of 'Most Popular Talent Show' at the
National Television Awards
The National Television Awards (often shortened to NTAs) is a British television awards ceremony, broadcast by the ITV network and initiated in 1995. The National Television Awards are the most prominent ceremony for which the results are voted ...
in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
In the
Guinness Book of 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 ...
2010 edition, the format of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' was named the most successful television show with the format being sold to more than 38 countries worldwide.
''Strictly Come Dancing: The Game''
In 2016,
BBC Worldwide
BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetises BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
commissioned a
match-3
A tile-matching video game is a type of puzzle video game where the player manipulates tiles in order to make them disappear according to a matching criterion. In many tile-matching games, that criterion is to place a given number of tiles of the ...
mobile app game published by Donut Publishing and developed by
Exient Entertainment
Exient Entertainment (also known as Exient Company) is an independent video game developer based in Oxford, United Kingdom with additional development studios in Leamington Spa, United Kingdom, and Malta. Mainly developing for handheld gaming s ...
. The game uses a mix of hand animation and motion-captured data for all the dances in the game, using pro dancers from the show ( Chloe Hewitt and Neil Jones). The mo-cap process was featured on '' It Takes Two'' in the build-up to the release of the app. The game features over 150 dresses and 9 dances: Quickstep, Jive, Tango, Salsa, Charleston, Viennese Waltz, Rumba, Cha Cha Cha, and Paso Doble. It was released on the
App Store
An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...
and
Google Play
Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...
in early 2016 and is regularly updated with new dance features alongside new seasons of the show.
Let's Dance for Comic Relief
''Let's Sing and Dance'', formerly known as ''Let's Dance'', is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief. The programme ...
''
References
Further reading
* Smith, Rupert (2005) ''Strictly Come Dancing''; dance consultant: Len Goodman. London: BBC Books