Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two

Strictly: It Takes Two
Format	Entertainment
Developed by	BBC
Presented by	Zoe Ball (2011–) Claudia Winkleman (2004–10)
Opening theme	Dan McGrath Josh Phillips
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	6
No. of episodes	409 (as of 16 December 2011)
Production
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	BBC Two
Picture format	16:9
Original run	25 October 2004 – present
Chronology
Preceded by	Strictly Come Dancing: On Three
Related shows	Strictly Come Dancing
External links
Website

Strictly: It Takes Two is a British television programme, the companion show to the popular BBC One programme Strictly Come Dancing. It airs on weeknights during the run of the main show on BBC Two at 6:30pm. The series was previously hosted by Claudia Winkleman; however due to her pregnancy in 2011 she had to leave the series and the new presenter for the show was announced to be former Strictly finalist Zoë Ball.

Before 2010, BBC Two Scotland did not broadcast the show on Thursdays, when locally-produced Gaelic language programming aired in the slot instead, though during the 2008 and 2009 series the Thursday night show was carried as an alternative digital stream via BBC Red Button.

The programme features interviews and training footage of the couples competing in the main Saturday night show, opinions from the judges on the previous Saturday show and the training footage for the next, and interviews with celebrities who have been watching the show. Head judge Len Goodman also gives a weekly spot entitled "Len's Masterclass", demonstrating with the presenter the dances to be performed on the following Saturday. Also, Craig Revel Horwood has a spot on Wednesday called "The Mid-Week Report" where he looks at the latest training footage and comments on the performance of the couples so far.

It Takes Two started to broadcast during the second series of the main show, replacing the companion show to the first series, Strictly Come Dancing: On Three, which had been broadcast on the digital channel BBC Three.

Ratings

The show averages between two and three million viewers each evening and is regularly the most watched show of the day on BBC 2. Although this is somewhat less than the main series' average of ten million viewers the early slot and broadcast channel means viewing figures near ten million are unrealistic.

Guests

Guests on the show have included celebrities demonstrating their enthusiasm for Strictly Come Dancing, including Ronni Ancona, Michael Ball, John Barrowman, Jason Donovan, Miranda Hart, Jamelia, Marian Keyes, Lulu, McFly, Lee Mead, Meat Loaf, Pauline Quirke, The Spice Girls, Rod Stewart, Westlife, Barbara Windsor, and Billy Zane.