| Strictly Come Dancing | |
|---|---|
Strictly Come Dancing logo (2010–) |
|
| Format | Talent show |
| Created by | Fenia Vardanis |
| Developed by | BBC |
| Presented by | Sir Bruce Forsyth Tess Daly Claudia Winkleman (2009–) Natasha Kaplinsky (2004) |
| Judges | Len Goodman Craig Revel Horwood Bruno Tonioli Arlene Phillips (2004–08) Alesha Dixon (2009–11) |
| Narrated by | Alan Dedicoat |
| Opening theme | Dan McGrath[1] Josh Phillips[2] |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of series | 9 (Normal) 8 (Christmas) |
| No. of episodes | 137 (as of 10 September 2011) |
| Production | |
| Location(s) | BBC Studios and Post Production |
| Camera setup | Multi-camera |
| Running time | Various lengths |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | BBC One (2004–) BBC One HD (2010–) BBC HD (2006–2010) |
| Picture format | 576i (SDTV) (2004–06) 1080i (HDTV) (2006–) |
| Original run | 15 May 2004 – present |
| Chronology | |
| Related shows | Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Strictly Come Dancing (sometimes shortened to Strictly or SCD by idiots) is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom. The format has been exported to over 30 other countries (see Dancing with the Stars), and has also inspired a modern-dance themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever.
The show has run on BBC One since 15 May 2004, primarily on Saturday evenings. The ninth series ended on 17 December 2011. A further seven stand-alone Christmas Specials have also been produced, in consecutive years from 2004 to 2010. Six charity specials have also been produced. Since the fourth series, the show has also been aired in high definition on BBC HD and BBC One HD from series 8.
The show pairs a number of celebrities with professional ballroom dancers who each week compete against each other to impress a panel of judges and the viewing public in order to survive potential elimination. Through telephone voting, viewers vote for whom they would like to stay, the results of the poll being combined with the ranking of the panel of judges. For example, with four contestants left, the judges' favourite would receive four points, second favourite three points, and so on, and similarly with the viewers' rankings.[3] The profits from the telephone lines were donated to Sport Relief in series 1, and to Children in Need from series 2 to 5.
The show is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday evenings, and it is presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. For some of the second series, Natasha Kaplinsky stood in temporarily for Tess Daly while she took maternity leave. The judging panel initially consisted of Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood. Alesha Dixon took Phillips' place from series 7 to 9, after which she left the programme to judge Britain's Got Talent.[4] Goodman and Tonioli commute weekly between Hollywood and London to judge both the American and British versions of the show simultaneously. Each judge gives the performance a mark out of ten, giving an overall total out of forty. The voice-over announcer is Alan Dedicoat. During series four, an hour-long highlight show was shown on Sundays at 7 pm 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, Hayley Sanderson, Lance Ellington and Andrea Grant. The music director is David Arch. Tommy Blaize has been part of Strictly since its beginning. In Series 3, Lance Ellington and Andrea Grant joined the singing team. David Arch joined in the fourth series and Hayley Sanderson in the fifth.
The show is broadcast from a specially constructed set at the BBC Television Centre. However, in the first two series, shows were also filmed at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, where the original Come Dancing series was filmed in the 1970s.[5][6]
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.[7][8] In 2005 though the BBC announced that they would not be returning to the venue for the third series due to "logistical problems".[9] 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, the show did return to the Tower Ballroom, for series 7, where Blackpool-born Craig Kelly was eliminated. The episode was aired live on 7 November 2009.[10] 'Strictly Come Dancing returned to Blackpool for the 2010 and 2011 series.
| Main Presenter | Series 1 | Series 2 | Series 3 | Series 4 | Series 5 | Series 6 | Series 7 | Series 8 | Series 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tess Daly |
Results Show |
Main Shows Results Show (week 4 onwards) |
Results Show |
||||||
| Sir Bruce Forsyth |
Results Show |
Main Show only | |||||||
| Claudia Winkleman | It Takes Two | It Takes Two Results Show |
Results Show | ||||||
| Zoe Ball | Contestant | Live Tour |
|
||||||
| Year(s) | Series | Presenter | Show |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 1 | Justin Lee Collins | Strictly Come Dancing on Three |
| 2004 | 2 | Natasha Kaplinsky | Main show (maternity cover for Tess Daly) |
| 2008 | 6 | Fearne Cotton | Children in Need Special |
| 2009 | 7 | Ronnie Corbett | Main show (guest host, week 9) |
| 2010–11 | 8–9 | Tess Daly | Children in Need Special |
| Year(s) | Presenter |
|---|---|
| 2008–10, 2012 | Kate Thornton |
| 2010 | Amanda Byram |
| 2011 | Zoe Ball |
Key:
| Judge | Series 1 | Series 2 | Series 3 | Series 4 | Series 5 | Series 6 | Series 7 | Series 8 | Series 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Len Goodman | Head Judge | ||||||||
| Craig Revel Horwood | Judge | ||||||||
| Bruno Tonioli | Judge | ||||||||
| Arlene Phillips | Judge | ||||||||
| Alesha Dixon | Contestant | Judge | |||||||
| Darcey Bussell | Guest Judge | ||||||||
| Jennifer Grey | Guest Judge | ||||||||
Key:
Brendan Cole, Erin Boag and Anton Du Beke are the only professional dancers who have taken part in all nine series of the show. Erin and Anton have never won the competition; Brendan won the first series with Natasha Kaplinsky.
Only three professionals have managed to win the title in their first series of being a Strictly professional. Those three are Brendan Cole (Series 1), Darren Bennett (Series 2) and Artem Chigvintsev (Series 8).
As of September 2011 the professional pairs are:
Many of the dancers form professional partnerships, dancing competitively or for show. Darren Bennet & Lilia Kopylova, and James & Ola Jordan are married, while Matthew and Nicole Cutler are now divorced but still professional partners.,[11][12][13] and Anton du Beke & Erin Boag,[14] have danced as professional couples since 1997; Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace are a former Argentine Tango world champion couple.[15] Ian Waite & Camilla Dallerup also form a professional partnership,[16] while Brendan Cole and Katya Virshilas danced professionally for several years before parting in November 2009.[17][18]
| Years | Series | Dance |
|---|---|---|
| 2004–present | 1-present | Cha Cha Cha, Foxtrot, Jive, Paso Doble, Quickstep, Rumba, Samba, Tango, Waltz, Freestyle Showdance |
| 2005–present | 3-present | American Smooth, Viennese Waltz |
| 2006–present | 4-present | Argentine Tango, Salsa |
| 2009–present | 7-present | Charleston |
| 2009 | 7 | Rock N' Roll, Lindyhop |
As of series four, coaches are Jaclyn Spencer and Chris Marques (aka Cuban Groove) for Salsa and Mambo, and Jenny Thomas and Ryan Francois for Swing, Jive, Rock n Roll and The Charleston. The Argentine Tango coaches in Series three were Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone, both of whom have subsequently competed in the show.
From Series 5, a new system was introduced called the Dance Off. The Dance Off is performed by the two couples with the lowest scores following the judges' scores and public vote. After performing their dance again, the judges are asked one-by-one who they would like to save, and the couple with the most votes remains in the competition. If there is a tie, head judge Len Goodman has the deciding vote.
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:
"The Sunday show is recorded on Saturday night but no element involving the results of the vote will start recording until after lines are closed and votes counted and verified."[19]
Throughout the Sunday results show the presenters refer to 'last night' in reference to the main show, due to the timing of the Sunday programme, and Tess Daly's dress is changed to present an illusion of a second live broadcast.
From Series 7, the Sunday results show was axed and put back to Saturday nights as a result of a revamp of the show.[20]
From Series 8 the Dance Off has been axed with the public having 50% of the decision of who is to be eliminated, the other 50% coming from the judge's scores.
During the run of Strictly Come Dancing, Strictly: It Takes Two is broadcast each weeknight on BBC Two, The series was previously hosted by Claudia Winkleman, however due to her pregnancy in 2011 she has had to leave the series and Zoe Ball will take over from Series 9.[21]
The show features reviews of the performances during the previous Saturday 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 doing. It Takes Two replaces Strictly Come Dancing on Three, hosted by Justin Lee Collins, which ran on BBC Three during the first series. BBC Two Scotland airs the programme on four nights only, running their own Gaelic-language programming on Thursdays instead.
Key:
15 May to 3 July 2004, in order of elimination
| Celebrity | Professional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Jason Wood | Kylie Jones | Week 2 |
| David Dickinson | Camilla Dallerup | Week 3 |
| Verona Joseph | Paul Killick | Week 4 |
| Claire Sweeney | John Byrnes | Week 5 |
| Martin Offiah | Erin Boag | Week 6 |
| Lesley Garrett | Anton du Beke | Third place |
| Christopher Parker | Hanna Karttunen | Runners up |
| Natasha Kaplinsky | Brendan Cole | Series winners |
23 October to 11 December 2004, in order of elimination
| Celebrity | Professional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Quentin Willson | Hazel Newberry | Week 1 |
| Carol Vorderman | Paul Killick | Week 2 |
| Esther Rantzen | Anton du Beke | Week 3 |
| Diarmuid Gavin | Nicole Cutler | Week 4 |
| Sarah Manners | Brendan Cole | Week 5 |
| Roger Black | Camilla Dallerup | Week 6 |
| Aled Jones | Lilia Kopylova | Week 7 |
| Julian Clary | Erin Boag | Third place |
| Denise Lewis | Ian Waite | Runners up |
| Jill Halfpenny | Darren Bennett | Series winners |
This series ran from 15 October to 17 December 2005. Over five million votes were cast, approximately three million of which were for the eventual champions, Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova.[23] Over ten and a half million viewers tuned in to the final show, and the whole series raised £1.5 million for Children in Need.[24]
The celebrities that took part in this series were as follows:
| Celebrity | Professional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Siobhan Hayes | Matthew Cutler | Week 1 |
| Jaye Jacobs | Andrew Cuerden | Week 2 |
| Gloria Hunniford | Darren Bennett | Week 3 |
| Fiona Phillips | Brendan Cole | Week 4 |
| Dennis Taylor | Izabela Hannah | Week 5 |
| Will Thorp | Hanna Haarala | Week 6 |
| Bill Turnbull | Karen Hardy | Week 7 |
| Patsy Palmer | Anton du Beke | Week 8 |
| James Martin | Camilla Dallerup | Week 9 |
| Zoë Ball | Ian Waite | Third place |
| Colin Jackson | Erin Boag | Runners up |
| Darren Gough | Lilia Kopylova | Series winners |
The show ran from 7 October to 23 December 2006. Over 12 million votes were cast, raising £1.5 million for Children in Need. A peak of 13 million viewers tuned in to the final show of series four to see Mark and Karen crowned 2006 Strictly Come Dancing champions.
The couples in order of elimination:
| Celebrity | Professional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Nicholas Owen | Nicole Cutler | Week 1 |
| Jimmy Tarbuck | Flavia Cacace | Withdrew for health reasons[25] |
| Mica Paris | Ian Waite | Week 2 |
| DJ Spoony | Ola Jordan | Week 3 |
| Georgina Bouzova | James Jordan | Week 4 |
| Jan Ravens | Anton du Beke | Week 5 |
| Ray Fearon | Camilla Dallerup | Week 6 |
| Peter Schmeichel | Erin Boag | Week 7 |
| Claire King | Brendan Cole | Week 8 |
| Carol Smillie | Matthew Cutler | Week 9 |
| Louisa Lytton | Vincent Simone | Week 10 |
| Emma Bunton | Darren Bennett | Third place |
| Matt Dawson | Lilia Kopylova | Runners-up |
| Mark Ramprakash | Karen Hardy | Series winners |
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 time, the line up of professionals was unchanged from the previous series. The first programme was a catch-up show and preview to the new series, before the start of the competition on 6 October, which ran for 12 weeks. 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 viewers' vote were subject to a dance-off, where they reprised their routine, for the judges to decide who left. Head Judge Len Goodman had the casting vote in case of a tie. The series raised just over a million pounds for Children in Need.[26]
| Celebrity | Professional | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Brian Capron | Karen Hardy | Week 1 |
| Stephanie Beacham | Vincent Simone | Week 2 |
| Willie Thorne | Erin Boag | Week 3 |
| Gabby Logan | James Jordan | Week 4 |
| Dominic Littlewood | Lilia Kopylova | Week 5 |
| Penny Lancaster Stewart | Ian Waite | Week 6 |
| Kate Garraway | Anton du Beke | Week 7 |
| John Barnes | Nicole Cutler | Week 8 |
| Kelly Brook | Brendan Cole | Withdrew due to bereavement[27] |
| Kenny Logan | Ola Jordan | Week 9 |
| Letitia Dean | Darren Bennett | Week 10 |
| Gethin Jones | Camilla Dallerup | Third place |
| Matt Di Angelo | Flavia Cacace | Runners up |
| Alesha Dixon | Matthew Cutler | Series winners |
A sixth series of the show was confirmed after the dancers' pay dispute was called off in late June 2008.[28] The series lasted for 14 weeks, which is the longest series so far.[28] The series involved three new professional dancers, Brian Fortuna, Hayley Holt and Kristina Rihanoff.[29]
In July 2008 it was reported that current EastEnders cast members were banned from taking part in the competition due to the length of the series.[30]
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.[31]
On 19 November 2008, John Sergeant announced that he would be leaving the show because he believed he may "win it".[32]
| Celebrity | Professional | Voted out |
|---|---|---|
| Phil Daniels | Flavia Cacace | Week 1 |
| Gillian Taylforth | Anton du Beke | Week 2 |
| Gary Rhodes | Karen Hardy | Week 3 |
| Jessie Wallace | Darren Bennett | Week 4 |
| Don Warrington | Lilia Kopylova | Week 5 |
| Mark Foster | Hayley Holt | Week 6 |
| Andrew Castle | Ola Jordan | Week 7 |
| Heather Small | Brian Fortuna | Week 8 |
| Cherie Lunghi | James Jordan | Week 9 |
| John Sergeant | Kristina Rihanoff | Withdrew[32] |
| Jodie Kidd | Ian Waite | Week 10 |
| Christine Bleakley | Matthew Cutler | Week 11 |
| Austin Healey | Erin Boag | Week 12 |
| Lisa Snowdon | Brendan Cole | Third place |
| Rachel Stevens | Vincent Simone | Runners up |
| Tom Chambers | Camilla Dallerup | Series winners |
The seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing ran from 18 September until 19 December 2009.[33] Tess Daly signed a two year deal to continue presenting the programme for at least the 2009 and 2010 series'.[34]
On 9 July 2009, former competitor Alesha Dixon was confirmed to be joining the judging panel for this series, and that Darcey Bussell would be a guest judge towards the end of the series run. Dixon replaced Arlene Phillips who moved to The One Show as a Strictly Come Dancing expert.[33] It has been reported in the media that many of the show's professional dancers are furious at Phillips being replaced by Dixon. They apparently feel that they "will be judged by someone who knows less than they do about dancing".[35] Bosses at the BBC have also been accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show had been replaced. Dixon's fans were also unhappy as she had to cancel a number of dates on her autumn tour in order to do the programme.[36]
The official line-up was revealed on 25 August 2009 and the winner was BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins:[37]
| Celebrity | Professional | Result (week voted out) |
|---|---|---|
| Martina Hingis | Matthew Cutler | Week 1 |
| Richard Dunwoody | Lilia Kopylova | Week 2 |
| Rav Wilding | Aliona Vilani | Week 3 |
| Lynda Bellingham | Darren Bennett | Week 4 |
| Joe Calzaghe | Kristina Rihanoff | Week 5 |
| Jo Wood | Brendan Cole | Week 6 |
| Zöe Lucker | James Jordan | Week 7 |
| Craig Kelly | Flavia Cacace | Week 8 |
| Phil Tufnell | Katya Virshilas | Week 9 |
| Jade Johnson | Ian Waite | Withdrew due to injury |
| Ricky Groves | Erin Boag | Week 10 |
| Natalie Cassidy | Vincent Simone | Week 11 |
| Laila Rouass | Anton du Beke | Week 12 |
| Ali Bastian | Brian Fortuna | Third place |
| Ricky Whittle | Natalie Lowe | Runners-up |
| Chris Hollins | Ola Jordan | Series winners |
The eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing began with a launch show on 11 September 2010, then three weeks later the live shows started on 1 October 2010.[38] Three new professional dancers have been announced,[39] The celebrities were revealed on 8 September 2010[40] and the professional partners were revealed during the launch show.[41][42]
| Celebrity | Professional | Result (week voted out) |
|---|---|---|
| Goldie | Kristina Rihanoff | Week 2 |
| Paul Daniels | Ola Jordan | Week 3 |
| Peter Shilton | Erin Boag | Week 4 |
| Tina O'Brien | Jared Murillo | Week 5 |
| Jimi Mistry | Flavia Cacace | Week 6 |
| Michelle Williams | Brendan Cole Ian Waite (Week 4) |
Week 7 |
| Felicity Kendal | Vincent Simone | Week 8 |
| Patsy Kensit | Robin Windsor | Week 9 |
| Ann Widdecombe | Anton du Beke | Week 10 |
| Gavin Henson | Katya Virshilas | Week 11 (Semi-Final) |
| Scott Maslen | Natalie Lowe | Week 11 (Semi-Final) |
| Pamela Stephenson | James Jordan | Third place |
| Matt Baker | Aliona Vilani | Runners-up |
| Kara Tointon | Artem Chigvintsev | Series winners |
As announced on Strictly Come Dancing's official website, Strictly will return with a Launch Show on 10 September 2011, with the final in December at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly will return to front the main show, and Claudia Winkleman to presenting the Sunday night results show along with Daly.
For Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, a new presenter will be joining the team. Claudia Winkleman has had to pull out of the 2011 series as it would be difficult to do a daily programme so soon after giving birth. It has been announced officially that Zoe Ball has been chosen to replace her.
The professional line-up was announced on 15 June 2011 [43] with most of the Series 8 professionals returning, but this year Siberian dancer Pasha Kovalev will take part in place of Jared Murillo.[44] The celebrity line-up was announced on 6 September 2011 on The One Show and the couples were paired up for the first time on the Launch Show.
| Celebrity | Professional | Result (week voted out) |
|---|---|---|
| Edwina Currie | Vincent Simone | Week 2 |
| Dan Lobb | Katya Virshilas | Week 3 |
| Rory Bremner | Erin Boag | Week 4 |
| Nancy Dell'Olio | Anton du Beke | Week 5 |
| Lulu | Brendan Cole | Week 6 |
| Audley Harrison | Natalie Lowe | Week 7 |
| Russell Grant | Flavia Cacace | Week 8 |
| Anita Dobson | Robin Windsor Brendan Cole (Week 9) |
Week 9 |
| Robbie Savage | Ola Jordan | Week 10 |
| Alex Jones | James Jordan | Week 11 (Semi-Final) |
| Holly Valance | Artem Chigvintsev Brendan Cole (Week 7) |
Week 11 (Semi-Final) |
| Jason Donovan | Kristina Rihanoff | Third place |
| Chelsee Healey | Pasha Kovalev | Runners-up |
| Harry Judd | Aliona Vilani | Series winners |
The Strictly Come Dancing Story was shown on 28 December 2007. While looking back at the last five series of Strictly Come Dancing, it also explained how it came about, showed clips of the original Come Dancing show, highlights from the series one to five, and how the show has transferred to other countries around the world.
Strictly Ice Dancing was broadcast as a one-off special on 26 December 2004; with Carol Smillie, Jessica Taylor, Scarlett Johnson, Marcus Patric, David Seaman, and Rowland Rivron paired with professional skaters. This was won by David Seaman (who was a late replacement for Paul Gascoigne) and his partner Zoia Birmingham.
In order of elimination, the competitors were:
| Celebrity | Professional | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Rowland Rivron | Charlotte Clements | 10 |
| Marcus Patric | Leigh Mack | 12 |
| Carol Smillie | Oula Jääskeläinen | 21 |
| Scarlett Johnson | Daniel Whiston | 22 |
| Jessica Taylor | Robert Burgerman | 34 |
| David Seaman | Zoia Birmingham | 33 |
Strictly Ice Dancing was identical to the Granada format Dancing On Ice, although details of Dancing on Ice were revealed before Strictly Ice Dancing was commissioned.
A further one-off special was broadcast on BBC One on 9 July 2005 as part of the BBC's Africa Lives season. It featured six celebrities of African descent performing traditional African dances with a professional troupe. The contestants were Tunde Baiyewu, Tupele Dorgu, Robbie Earle, Antonia Okonma, Louis Emerick, and Tessa Sanderson. The programme was presented by Natasha Kaplinsky and Martin Offiah, and the winner was Robbie Earle. Professional dancers Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, who have appeared on Strictly Come Dancing since the second series, also appeared on this special to perform a traditional African Samba.
In order of elimination:
A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Sport Relief was broadcast on 14 March 2008, with Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips and Len Goodman judging.[45]
The results were as follows:
| Ex-Strictly Contestant | Celebrity | Place | Judges' scores | Dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denise Lewis | David Ginola | 4th | 7+7+7=21 | Waltz |
| Roger Black | Jade Johnson | 3rd – | 8+6+8=22 | Cha Cha Cha |
| Darren Gough | Gemma Bissix | 3rd | 7+7+8=22 | American Smooth |
| Matt Dawson | Elaine Paige | 2nd | 8+9+8=25 | Tango |
| Mark Ramprakash | Kara Tointon | 1st | 9+9+9=27 | Samba |
The ranking of the bottom three couples was not announced – they were eliminated from the competition in a random order.
A BBC spokesperson commented: "Sport Relief features Strictly Come Dancing with a difference."
| Celebrity | Professional | Place | Judges' scores | Dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Jones | Natalie Lowe | 1st | 4+7+5=16 | Tango |
| Duncan Bannatyne | Lilia Kopylova | 2nd | 2+5+3=10 | Cha Cha Cha |
A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Children In Need was broadcast on 14 November 2008, with Fearne Cotton presenting and Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips and Craig Revel Horwood judging.
The results were as follows:
| Professional Dancer | Children In Need Host | Place | Judges' scores[46] | Dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anton Du Beke | Tess Daly | 1st | 9+9+9+9=36 | American Smooth |
| Flavia Cacace | Terry Wogan | 2nd | 7+8+7+7=29 | Waltz |
The dancers performed alongside Alesha Dixon singing The Boy Does Nothing at the start of the show and also Ricky Whittle was seen backstage, supporting the Hollyoaks cast who performed and Alesha told him to go back to rehearsals. The presenters and judges didn't appear in this unlike the previous year when judges rated Terry's performance.
A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Children In Need was broadcast on 19 November 2010 with Tess Daly presenting and Len Goodman, Terry Wogan, Craig Revel Horwood and Pudsey Bear judging.
The results were as follows:
| Professional Dancer | Pop Star | Place | Judges' scores[46] | Dance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ola Jordan | Harry Judd | 1st | 9+9+7+10=35 | Paso Doble to Ego by The Saturdays |
| Ian Waite | Rochelle Wiseman | 2nd | 6+9+8+10=33 | American Smooth to All About You by McFly |
In 2011, newsreaders Sian Williams (with Vincent Simone), Sophie Raworth (with Ian Waite), Susanna Reid (with Robin Windsor) and Emily Maitlis (with Pasha Kovalev) took to the floor with a Cha-Cha-Cha to Katy Perry's "Firework". Susanna & Robin won with 3 of the judges' votes. Angela Rippon also made an appearance.
On 27 December 2008, a special episode of The Weakest Link was broadcast on BBC1 featuring participants of Strictly Come Dancing. The game was won by series 6 celebrity Mark Foster, who beat professional dancer Anton du Beke in the final. Participants in order of elimination were:
Let's Dance for Comic Relief was broadcast both in February and March 2009 & 2011 in aid of Comic Relief.
Broadcast from February and March 2010 & 2012 in aid of Sport Relief.
Strictly Come Dancing went on tour at the beginning of 2008 for the first time.[47] The tour was hosted by Kate Thornton, and judged by Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, and Len Goodman.[48] Bruno Tonioli was not a judge in this competition[47] due to him being in Los Angeles.[49] The tour began on 18 January 2008 in Glasgow and finished on 19 February 2008 in Birmingham.[50]
Celebrity dancers taking part were:[51]
The results of the tour are as follows:[54]
| Couple | Series | Number of wins | Number of 2nd places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace | 5 | 16 | 10 |
| Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone | 4 | 10 | 3 |
| Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova | 3 | 8 | 10 |
| Zoe Ball and Ian Waite | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| Letitia Dean and Darren Bennett | 5 | 1 | 2 |
Denise Lewis, Christopher Parker, James Martin were not winners or runners up at any stage of the tour.[54]
The Strictly Come Dancing Tour returned in January and February 2009.[55] Kate Thornton returned to host, and all four judges from the TV series took part.
The couples and results of the tour were as follows:[56]
| Couple | Series | Number of wins | Number of 2nd places |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone | 6 | 26 | 14 |
| Gethin Jones and Flavia Cacace | 5 | 6 | 6 |
| Kenny Logan and Ola Jordan | 5 | 6 | 0 |
| Julian Clary and Lilia Kopylova | 2 | 3 | 13 |
| Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett | 2 | 3 | 9 |
| Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Cherie Lunghi and James Jordan | 6 | 0 | 1 |
| Jodie Kidd and Ian Waite | 6 | 0 | 0 |
Gethin Jones and Julian Clary were paired with new professional partners – Jones' partner Camilla Dallerup danced with her series six celebrity Tom Chambers, whilst Clary's partner (Erin Boag) did not take part in the tour, as she and her professional partner Anton du Beke were on their own Cheek To Cheek tour of the UK.
Strictly Come Dancing professionals Matthew Cutler and Kristina Rihanoff also performed a routine together.
The DVD was released on 9 November 2009.
The Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour took place in January and February 2010. Amanda Byram and Kate Thornton hosted on different nights.
The Judging Panel consisted of 4 members:
The following celebrities and professional dancers starred in the Tour:
Two other pro dancers danced on the tour:
| Couple | Series | Number of wins |
|---|---|---|
| Austin Healey and Lilia Kopylova | 6 | 23 |
| Mark Ramprakash and Kristina Rihanoff | 4 | 20 |
| Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna | 7 | 2 |
Ten professional show dancers took part in the first Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals Tour between April to July 2010.[57] It featured –
The Strictly Come Dancing 2011 UK tour returned to UK arenas during January and February 2011. Zoe Ball joined as host. Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman returned as judges. The Celebrities and Professionals who participated were:
The Strictly Come Dancing 2012 UK tour will begin its run on Friday 20th January and finish on Sunday 26th February. The venues hosting the tour this year are as follows: [58]
National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
Wembley Arena and O2 Arena, London
Evening News Arena, Manchester
Sheffield Arena, Sheffield
Echo Arena, Liverpool
Newcastle Arena, Newcastle
SECC, Glasgow
Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
The O2, Dublin
Odyssey Arena, Belfast
Kate Thornton will return as host. Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman will return as judges. Craig is also directing the tour for the second year.
The Celebrities and Professionals who will participate are:
Ian Waite will also perform with Natalie on the tour, but will not be partnered with a celebrity.
On seventeen occasions, a perfect 40 out of 40 has been awarded inside the main series (three perfect 50 out of 50 for Series 7). Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole and Pamela Stephenson and James Jordan hold the record for most perfect scores with three perfect forties in the series each. On another five occasions, a couple scored 40/40 on a Christmas Special.
The lowest that the judges have ever awarded was 8/40 to Quentin Willson and Hazel Newberry for their Cha Cha Cha.
Ricky Whittle and his partner Natalie Lowe hold the record for the most tens with 28, followed by Rachel Stevens and her partner Vincent Simone and Harry Judd and his partner Aliona Vilani with 25, Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev with 21 and Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole with 20.[59] However, Ricky Whittle danced 19 scored dances compared to 16 scored dances each by Rachel Stevens, Harry Judd, Kara Tointon and Lisa Snowdon. In addition, for part of series 7 in which Ricky Whittle danced, guest judge Darcey Bussell joined the judging panel, meaning there were 5 judges scoring the dances. Therefore Rachel Stevens and Harry Judd both scored 10s more often than Ricky Whittle, with 39% of their scores being 10s, whilst 33% of Ricky Whittle's scores were 10.
Alesha Dixon and her partner Matthew Cutler currently hold the best average score from the judges out of all contestants on every series being 36.5/40 for their dances.
The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks (out of 40) are as follows (not including scores earned on Christmas Specials).
For a more accurate comparison Darcey Bussell's scores have been subtracted from the totals of the Series 7 quarter-finalists where relevant; specifically Ali Bastian's American Smooth, Chris Hollins' Charleston and both Ricky Whittle's Quickstep & Showdance (Bussell scored all of them a 10 with the exception of Ricky's Showdance, which she scored a 9).
Please note that in addition to Bussell's scores being subtracted, the Lindyhop has been removed as it was only danced by the finalists in Series 7 (Chris Hollins got the highest score with 44 and Ricky Whittle got the lowest score with 43). The Swing-a-thon from the series 8 semi-final and week 9 of series 9 is also not included as it was not scored on the usual scale.
In December 2008 the show hit the headlines when viewers were able to register telephone votes for a couple that effectively they could not save from the dance off irrespective of how many public votes were cast in their favour. Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup could not mathematically survive given the scoring system, however viewers were invited to call in to save their favourites at a cost of 15p per vote. The BBC did not offer a refund service. The same problem emerged later on in the series' Christmas special.
Further doubts were raised about the telephone voting system, when 2009 contestant Rav Wilding was eliminated from the competition in week 3. Despite having already been in the dance off the previous week, Rav Wilding claimed that a problem with the phone lines meant that he lost votes that could have saved him from having to compete again in the dance-off. Despite the claims, both the BBC and the telephone company strongly denied that there were any problems with the phone lines.
The decision to drop Arlene Phillips from the judging line-up for the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing led to much criticism being directed at the BBC for its handling of older female television personalities. Accusations resurfaced that the BBC routinely discriminates against women in television based on their age. The most notable examples of purported age discrimination in the BBC include the release of newsreader Moira Stewart in 2007 and the retirement of Anna Ford in 2006. Other high profile BBC personalities such as Selina Scott and Kate Adie have also accused the BBC of age discrimination towards women.[60]
The axing of Arlene Phillips led to an unprecedented intervention from the government's Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman. During a session in the House of Commons, Harman responded to questions stating that she believed the decision to drop Arlene Phillips was motivated by age discrimination and called on the BBC to ensure that she would be taking part in the new series. The BBC has not formally responded to this request, but has repeated its comments that the decision was not due to age.[61] The appointment of Alesha Dixon to the judging panel prompted 5000 complaints to the BBC,[62] and her judging debut was met with hostility amongst viewers and tabloids alike but she has since proven to be a popular judge, giving both praise and constructive criticism. .[63][64]
In 2009 a scandal embroiled the show involving professional dancer Anton du Beke, who in an off air conversation, made a joke with racial imagery to his dance partner of Moroccan descent Laila Rouass for which he has subsequently unreservedly apologised.[65] This followed an earlier incident, when he is alleged to have asked her if she is a 'terrorist'. Whilst both of the people involved insisted that the comments had been intended as humorous banter, the news nevertheless prompted numerous complaints filed by viewers calling for du Beke to be removed from his position.
| Series | Series Première | Series Finale | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Viewers | Date | Viewers | |
| 1 | 15 May 2004 | 4.61m[66] | 3 July 2004 | 9.28m[67] |
| 2 | 23 October 2004 | 6.54m[68] | 11 December 2004 | 11.60m[69] |
| 3 | 15 October 2005 | 7.23m[70] | 17 December 2005 | 10.55m[71] |
| 4 | 7 October 2006 | 9.23m[72] | 23 December 2006 | 12.11m[73] |
| 5 | 6 October 2007 | 7.68m[74] | 22 December 2007 | 12.09m[75] |
| 6 | 20 September 2008 | 8.48m[76] | 20 December 2008 | 12.21m[77] |
| 7 | 18 September 2009 | 8.44m[78] | 19 December 2009 | 11.30m |
| 8 | 1 October 2010 | 9.60m | 18 December 2010 | 14.10m |
| 9 | 30 September 2011 | 9.14m | 17 December 2011 | 12.0m [79] |
The show has won a highly prestigious Rose D'Or 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 and two at the TV Quick Awards for 'Best Talent Show'. It has also received three BAFTA nominations.
The show won the award of 'Most Popular Talent Show' at the 2008 National Television Awards.
In the Guinness Book of World Records 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.
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