Strictly Come Dancing

For the current series, see Strictly Come Dancing (series 16). For the South African series, see Strictly Come Dancing (South African TV series). For international versions, see Dancing with the Stars.

Strictly Come Dancing
Genre	Talent show
Created by	Fenia Vardanis Richard Hopkins Karen Smith
Developed by	Karen Smith
Presented by	Sir Bruce Forsyth Tess Daly Claudia Winkleman
Judges	Len Goodman Craig Revel Horwood Bruno Tonioli Arlene Phillips Alesha Dixon Dame Darcey Bussell Shirley Ballas
Voices of	Alan Dedicoat
Theme music composer	Dan McGrath Josh Phillips
Country of origin	United Kingdom
Original language	English
No. of series	15
No. of episodes	210 (as of 16 December 2017)
Production
Executive producer	Karen Smith (2004–2006)
Production locations	BBC Television Centre (2004–2012) Blackpool Tower (2004, 2009–2011, 2013–) Wembley Arena (2011–2012) Elstree Studios (2013–)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30–120 minutes
Production company	BBC Studios
Original release
Network	BBC One
Release	15 May 2004 (2004-05-15) – present
Related
Come Dancing Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two Strictly Dance Fever Dancing with the Stars

Strictly Come Dancing (informally known as Strictly) is a British television dance contest, featuring celebrity contestants, with professional dance partners competing in a ballroom and Latin dance competition. Each couple is scored out of 10 by a panel of judges. 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 40 other countries, and has also inspired a modern dance-themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever. The show is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman.

The show has run on BBC One since 15 May 2004, primarily on Saturday evenings with a following Sunday night results show (with certain exceptions) and with its high viewing figures Strictly Come Dancing has become a significant programme in British popular culture. The fifteenth series ended on 16 December 2017. A further eleven stand-alone Christmas specials have also been produced, in consecutive years from 2004 onwards. Nine charity specials have also been produced since 2008. Since the fourth series, the show has also been aired in high definition on BBC HD, and BBC One HD from series 8.

On 7 November 2013 it was announced that Sir Bruce Forsyth would be retiring from presenting the main series. While intended to return as host for each Children in Need and Christmas special, he only did so for the Christmas special in 2014 and the Children in Need special in 2015. He sent a video message for the 2015 Christmas special as he was unable to appear due to his illness. Forsyth died on 18 August 2017.

Development

Producer Richard Hopkins, who had produced the first UK series of Big Brother, unsuccessfully pitched the idea of a modern Come Dancing 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, 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 and Tess Daly 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, 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, 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 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 is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman (however Zoë Ball covered 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 some of the second series, Natasha Kaplinsky 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, 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 which led retired ballerina Dame Darcey Bussell to replace her; Bussell remains a judge alongside Tonioli and Revel Horwood. Tonioli commutes 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 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, Hayley Sanderson, Lance Ellington, Andrea Grant and formerly the well known UK dance music vocalist Tara McDonald. The music director is David Arch. Tommy Blaize has been part of Strictly since its beginning. David Arch joined in the fourth series and Hayley Sanderson in the fifth.

The show was broadcast from a specially constructed set at the BBC Television Centre, moving to the Elstree Studios in 2013. 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.

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, 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. Strictly Come Dancing returned to Blackpool for the 2010 and 2011 series. Then after series 10 when Strictly Come Dancing did not go to Blackpool, they announced that they would return for series 11.

Presenters

Key

  Main presenter of Strictly Come Dancing

  Co-host of Strictly Come Dancing

  Presenter of It Takes Two

  Contestant

  Results show co-host

Cast member	Series
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Sir Bruce Forsyth1
Tess Daly2
Claudia Winkleman3
Zoë Ball4

Notes

^1 From series eight to 11, Sir Bruce Forsyth only hosted the main show.

^2 In series two, Tess Daly only appeared from week six onwards due to maternity leave. Natasha Kaplinsky served as a temporary replacement.

^3 From series 8 onwards, Claudia Winkleman presented the results show alongside Daly, and occasionally the main show, replacing Forsyth. Following Forsyth's departure after series 11, Daly took over Forsyth's role as main presenter and Winkleman took over Daly's role as co-presenter.

^4 In series twelve, Zoë Ball co-presented weeks six, seven and eight of the main show with Daly, covering for Winkleman.

Other

Year(s)	Series	Presenter	Show	Notes
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
2014	12	Zoë Ball		Guest host, covering for Claudia Winkleman

Live tour

Year(s)	Presenter
2008–10, 2012–13	Kate Thornton
2010	Amanda Byram
2011, 2015	Zoë Ball
2014	Lisa Riley
2016	Mel Giedroyc
2017	Anita Rani
2018	Ore Oduba

Judging panel

Key

  Head judge

  Main judge

  Guest judge

  Contestant

Judge	Series
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16
Bruno Tonioli
Craig Revel Horwood
Len GoodmanA
Arlene Phillips
Alesha Dixon
Dame Darcey BussellB
Shirley Ballas
Jennifer GreyC
Donny OsmondD

Notes

^A Goodman is a former head judge, but missed week six of series nine, so Revel Horwood served as temporary head judge

^B Bussell served as a guest judge throughout weeks twelve to fourteen for series seven

^C Grey served as a guest judge for Goodman during week six of series nine

^D Osmond served as a guest judge for week three of series twelve

Professional dancers and their partners

See also: List of Strictly Come Dancing contestants

Key:

  Winner of the series

  Second place of the series

  Third place of the series

  Finalist of the series

  First elimination of the series

  Withdrew in the series

  Participating in current series

Notes and statistics

• Iveta Lukosiute was a replacement partner for Johnny Ball in series 10 after his original partner, Aliona Vilani, was injured in training.
• Although Ian Waite and Karen Hardy no longer dance competitively on the show, they do still make regular appearances on companion programme It Takes Two. 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.
• Brendan Cole and Anton du Beke are the only two professional dancers who have taken part in all fifteen series of the show. Anton has never won the competition; Brendan won the first series with Natasha Kaplinsky.
• Only four professionals have won in their first series of being a Strictly professional. Those four are Brendan Cole (Series 1), Darren Bennett (Series 2), Artem Chigvintsev (Series 8) and Aljaž Skorjanec (series 11)
• Only four professionals have won in their last series of being a Strictly professional. Those four are Camilla Dallerup (Series 6), Flavia Cacace (Series 10), Aliona Vilani (series 13) and Joanne Clifton (series 14).
• In series 11, Aliona Vilani (who had previously been announced as leaving the show) was a replacement for Natalie Lowe who was injured before the series started. The producers of the show announced this on 2 September 2013.
• Aliona Vilani is the first professional in history to be eliminated first twice in a row with Tony Jacklin in series 11 and Gregg Wallace in series 12. She is also the only professional, however, to have won more than once (with Harry Judd and Jay McGuiness)
• Kevin Clifton has the most final appearances ever, with four. These are all consecutive.
• In series 13, Joanne Clifton was a professional dancer however was not given a celebrity partner. In series 14 and 15, Neil Jones and Chloe Hewitt were professional dancers but had no partner. In series 16, Neil Jones, Luba Mushtuk and Johannes Radebe were professional dancers but had no partner.

Professional partners

Some of the dancers form professional partnerships, dancing together competitively or on the show. Darren Bennet and Lilia Kopylova, and James and Ola Jordan are married, while Matthew and Nicole Cutler are divorced but still professional partners. Anton du Beke and Erin Boag have danced as a professional couple since 1997; Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are a former Argentine Tango world champion couple. Brendan Cole and Katya Virshilas danced professionally for several years before parting in November 2009. Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton were engaged when Kevin entered the show in 2013 and were married prior to the 2015 season, Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec were married in 2017. Neil and Katya Jones are also married.

Dances

On average, dances last for approximately 90 seconds. The music for the dances are performed by The Strictly Come Dancing Band.

• The Waltz, Cha Cha Cha, Quickstep, Rumba, Tango, Jive, Foxtrot, Paso Doble and Samba have all been danced since Series 1.
• The American Smooth and the Viennese Waltz were added in Series 3.
• The Salsa and the Argentine Tango were added in Series 4.
• No more dances were added until Series 7, week 11 when couples performed either a Charleston (which winner Chris Hollins chose to perform again in the final) or a Rock N' Roll routine. The final also featured a head-to-head Lindyhop. 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 dance Swing simultaneously and are voted off the dancefloor one by one by the judges until only one couple remains. This returned in Series 9 and 11.
• The tenth series featured a "Dance Fusion", in which the couples attempt to perform two dances consecutively in one routine.
• The twelfth series introduced the Waltz-a-thon, which uses the same manner as the Swing-a-thon of all remaining couples on the dance floor at the same time, all the couples dance Waltz. Afterwards, the results are revealed by the judges.
• The thirteenth series introduced a Quickstep-a-thon, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously performed a quickstep. The judges then ranked them one to seven and gave points accordingly.
• The fourteenth series saw the Cha-Cha-Challenge introduced, in which all six remaining couples simultaneously performed a cha-cha-cha. The judges then ranked them one to six and gave points accordingly.
• The sixteenth series introduced Contemporary, Jazz, Street dances as part of a "couples' choice" category.
• A Showdance (Freestyle) has always been performed in the series final as a last chance for couples to impress the public. However, since Series 8, the Showdance has been danced as the second dance in the final.

Prior to series 10, the dances performed in the early weeks are switched between one Ballroom and one Latin, and are divided as evenly as possible depending on the number of contestants left. As the competition progressed further, this system is abandoned and many styles, not just two, can be performed in one week by each of the remaining contestants. From series 4 through 7, the remaining contestants who made it to the semi-finals are granted to perform the semi-final-exclusive Argentine Tango. Beginning with series 10, this has all changed. The contestants are now allowed to dance whichever dance they are bestowed to (not accustomed to any patterns), though the Argentine Tango remains to be somewhat reserved for the latter stages of the series. The Showdance, however, is still restricted only for the finalists from the very first series until now.

Coaching

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.

Results show

From Series 1-4, the results show was shown live, later on the Saturday after 1 hour after the performances.

From Series 5 onwards, 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.

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, Claudia Winkleman's and the judges' outfits 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 was then put back on Sundays in Series 8.

Dance-off

A new system called the dance-off was introduced in series 5. It continued on the program through series 7, was not used for series 8 and 9, but was reinstated as of series 10 and has remained a feature of the show ever since. There are two couples in each dance-off, which occurs on the results show: the two who received the lowest totals that week from the combined judges' scores and the 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 the dance a second time the couple sometimes gets advice from the judges. The judges decide who continues on the show and who is eliminated based on the second dance 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 and currently Shirley Ballas. Afterwards, the eliminated couple perform one final dance—some people call it waltzing out of the ballroom. The Monday after they are eliminated they appear on It Takes Two to talk about their time on the show. The dance-off has been cancelled only once, in series 14, due to an injury sustained earlier by one of the contestants, Anastacia. She was unable to perform the dance-off, and the couple with the lowest total was eliminated.

Strictly: It Takes Two

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two

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; but, due to her pregnancy in 2011, she had to leave the series, and Zoë Ball took over from Series 9.

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 doing. It Takes Two replaced Strictly Come Dancing on Three, hosted by Justin Lee Collins, which ran on BBC Three during the first series. Prior to 2010, BBC Two Scotland aired the programme on four nights only, running their own Gaelic-language programming on Thursdays instead.

Main series results

Series	Premiere date	Finale date	Number of couples	Number of weeks	Winners	Second place	Third place
1	15 May 2004	3 July 2004	8	8	Natasha Kaplinsky & Brendan Cole	Christopher Parker & Hanna Karttunen	Lesley Garrett & Anton du Beke
2	23 October 2004	11 December 2004	10		Jill Halfpenny & Darren Bennett	Denise Lewis & Ian Waite	Julian Clary & Erin Boag
3	15 October 2005	17 December 2005	12	10	Darren Gough & Lilia Kopylova	Colin Jackson & Erin Boag	Zoë Ball & Ian Waite
4	7 October 2006	23 December 2006	14	12	Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy	Matt Dawson & Lilia Kopylova	Emma Bunton & Darren Bennett
5	6 October 2007	22 December 2007			Alesha Dixon & Matthew Cutler	Matt Di Angelo & Flavia Cacace	Gethin Jones & Camilla Dallerup
6	20 September 2008	20 December 2008	16	14	Tom Chambers & Camilla Dallerup	Rachel Stevens & Vincent Simone	Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole
7	18 September 2009	19 December 2009			Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan	Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe	Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna
8	1 October 2010	18 December 2010	14	12	Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev	Matt Baker & Aliona Vilani	Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan
9	30 September 2011	17 December 2011			Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani	Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff
10	5 October 2012	22 December 2012			Louis Smith & Flavia Cacace	Denise Van Outen & James Jordan Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev	—
11	27 September 2013	21 December 2013	15	13	Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Škorjanec	Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev Susanna Reid & Kevin Clifton
12	26 September 2014	20 December 2014			Caroline Flack & Pasha Kovalev	Frankie Bridge & Kevin Clifton Simon Webbe & Kristina Rihanoff
13	25 September 2015	19 December 2015			Jay McGuiness & Aliona Vilani	Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton
14	23 September 2016	17 December 2016			Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton	Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse Louise Redknapp & Kevin Clifton
15	23 September 2017	16 December 2017			Joe McFadden & Katya Jones	Alexandra Burke & Gorka Márquez Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice Gemma Atkinson & Aljaž Škorjanec
16	22 September 2018	TBD			TBA	TBA

Series 1 (2004)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 1)

In Spring 2004, Strictly Come Dancing commenced its first series. The professional dancers were: Brendan, Hanna, Anton, Erin, John, Paul, Camilla and Kylie. This is the only series that took place in the Spring/Summer months. From the second series onwards, the show takes place from September/October to December each year. Natasha Kaplinsky & Brendan Cole were crowned the first winners of Strictly Come Dancing. This was the shortest series, with 8 weeks.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
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

Series 2 (2004)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 2)

In Autumn 2004, the second series commenced. 5 of the 8 professionals returned. These professionals were: Brendan, Anton, Erin, Paul and Camilla. There were 5 new professionals who are: Darren, Ian, Lilia, Nicole and Hazel. Hazel only participated in this series while the other professionals competed in following series.

A new spin-off show called Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two presented by Claudia Winkleman was created this series and has continued to air alongside each following series, now hosted by Zoë Ball on BBC Two.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
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

Series 3 (2005)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 3)

In 2005, the third series commenced. Brendan, Anton, Erin, Camilla, Darren, Ian and Lilia returned from last series. Nicole, Paul and Hazel did not return. They were replaced by Karen, Hanna, Izabela, Andrew and Matthew.

The celebrities that took part in this series were as follows:

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
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

Series 4 (2006)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 4)

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 into the final show of series four to see Mark and Karen 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 series. This series also saw the return of Nicole Cutler, who had taken part in Series 2 but not in Series 3.

The couples in order of elimination:

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
Nicholas Owen	Nicole Cutler	Week 1
Jimmy Tarbuck	Flavia Cacace	Withdrew
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

Series 5 (2007)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 5)

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 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.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
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
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

Series 6 (2008)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 6)

A sixth series of the show was confirmed after the dancers' pay dispute was called off in late June 2008. The series lasted for 14 weeks, which is the longest series so far. The series involved three new professional dancers, Brian Fortuna, Hayley Holt and Kristina Rihanoff. Nicole Cutler did not return to the series.

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.

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".

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week 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
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

Series 7 (2009)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 7)

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 the 2009 and 2010 series'.

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. 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". The BBC were also accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show had been replaced. 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 do the programme.

The official line-up was revealed on 25 August 2009 and the winner was BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins:

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
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

Series 8 (2010)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 8)

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. Three new professional dancers were announced, The celebrities were revealed on 8 September 2010 and the professional partners were revealed during the launch show.

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
Scott Maslen	Natalie Lowe	Week 11
Pamela Stephenson	James Jordan	Third place
Matt Baker	Aliona Vilani	Runners-up
Kara Tointon	Artem Chigvintsev	Series winners

Series 9 (2011)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 9)

Strictly returned with a launch show on 10 September 2011, with the final in December at the Tower Ballroom, Blackpool. Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returned to front the main show, and Claudia Winkleman 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.

All of series eight's judges returned to the show. Jennifer Grey served as a cover judge for Len Goodman during week six due to his break from the show. This was the last series to feature Alesha Dixon as a judge after she left the show after the final to become a judge on Britain's Got Talent

The professional line-up 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. 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
Holly Valance	Artem Chigvintsev Brendan Cole (Week 7)	Week 11
Jason Donovan	Kristina Rihanoff	Third place
Chelsee Healey	Pasha Kovalev	Runners-up
Harry Judd	Aliona Vilani	Series winners

Series 10 (2012)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 10)

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 would be joining the judging panel, replacing Alesha Dixon who left the show to be a judge on Britain's Got Talent.

Katya Virshilas was the only professional dancer not returning to this series, and she was replaced by Burn the Floor's Karen Hauer. The full line-up was revealed on 10 September during The One Show.

Aliona Vilani was originally Johnny Ball's partner, but injury resulted in her being replaced by Iveta Lukosiute.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
Johnny Ball	Iveta Lukosiute	Week 2
Jerry Hall	Anton du Beke	Week 3
Sid Owen	Ola Jordan	Week 4
Colin Salmon	Kristina Rihanoff	Week 5
Fern Britton	Artem Chigvintsev	Week 6
Richard Arnold	Erin Boag	Week 7
Victoria Pendleton	Brendan Cole	Week 8
Michael Vaughan	Natalie Lowe	Week 9
Nicky Byrne	Karen Hauer	Week 10
Lisa Riley	Robin Windsor	Week 11
Dani Harmer	Vincent Simone	Week 12
Denise van Outen	James Jordan	Runners-up
Kimberley Walsh	Pasha Kovalev
Louis Smith	Flavia Cacace	Series winners

Series 11 (2013)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 11)

Strictly Come Dancing returned with the launch show on 7 September 2013 and its live shows on 27 September 2013 for its eleventh series. Rod Stewart and Jessie J performed on the premiere show.

On 1 June 2013, it was announced that Aliona Vilani, Vincent Simone, Flavia Cacace, and Erin Boag would all leave this series. Aljaž Skorjanec, Emma Slater, Janette Manrara and Iveta Lukosiute, who partnered Johnny Ball in the first few weeks of series 10, would all join the cast. However, it was confirmed on 22 August 2013 that Anya Garnis and Kevin Clifton joined the series, replacing Slater. On 2 September 2013, it was announced that a foot fracture injury meant Natalie Lowe would not be able to participate this series, and she was replaced by returning professional Vilani.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out)
Tony Jacklin	Aliona Vilani	Week 2
Vanessa Feltz	James Jordan	Week 3
Julien Macdonald	Janette Manrara	Week 4
Deborah Meaden	Robin Windsor	Week 5
Rachel Riley	Pasha Kovalev	Week 6
Dave Myers	Karen Hauer	Week 7
Fiona Fullerton	Anton du Beke	Week 8
Ben Cohen	Kristina Rihanoff	Week 9
Mark Benton	Iveta Lukosiute	Week 10
Ashley Taylor Dawson	Ola Jordan	Week 11
Patrick Robinson	Anya Garnis	Week 12
Sophie Ellis-Bextor	Brendan Cole	Week 13
Natalie Gumede	Artem Chigvintsev	Runners-up
Susanna Reid	Kevin Clifton
Abbey Clancy	Aljaž Škorjanec	Series winners

Series 12 (2014)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 12)

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 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 would join the main show as co-presenter and the duties would mirror the existing result show format, with Tess Daly 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, James Jordan and Anya Garnis 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 and Joanne Clifton would be joining the show's professional line-up. It was then announced in August that Robin Windsor had pulled out of the competition due to a back injury. Windsor will be replaced by new professional Trent Whiddon. In the third week entertainer Donny Osmond 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 co-presented with Daly.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out) (week voted out)
Gregg Wallace	Aliona Vilani	Week 2
Jennifer Gibney	Tristan MacManus	Week 3
Tim Wonnacott	Natalie Lowe	Week 4
Thom Evans	Iveta Lukosiute	Week 5
Scott Mills	Joanne Clifton	Week 6
Alison Hammond	Aljaž Škorjanec	Week 7
Judy Murray	Anton du Beke	Week 8
Steve Backshall	Ola Jordan	Week 9
Sunetra Sarker	Brendan Cole	Week 10
Pixie Lott	Trent Whiddon	Week 11
Jake Wood	Janette Manrara	Week 12
Mark Wright	Karen Hauer	Week 13
Frankie Bridge	Kevin Clifton	Runners-up
Simon Webbe	Kristina Rihanoff
Caroline Flack	Pasha Kovalev	Series winners

Series 13 (2015)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 13)

Strictly Come Dancing returned for the 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, Iveta Lukosiute and Joanne Clifton. Clifton would remain involved in group dances and would feature on Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two as a dance expert. Robin Windsor, 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 (from the American, Australian, and Russian versions of Dancing with the Stars), South African dancer Oti Mabuse (from Germany's Let's Dance) and Italian dancer Giovanni Pernice.

On 3 October 2015, the judges performed The Strictly, 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 and Tristan MacManus. Ola Jordan later announced that she had quit the show and claimed that the results were "fixed".

Series 13 was the last to feature Tristan MacManus, Kristina Rihanoff, Ola Jordan and Gleb Savchenko as professional dancers. Aliona Vilani announced three days after winning that she was leaving the show, however, she did do the 2016 live tour. Savchenko announced he was leaving the show on 28 June 2016. For series 14, Katya Jones, Gorka Márquez, Oksana Platero, and Joanne Clifton replaced them.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out) (week voted out)
Iwan Thomas	Ola Jordan	Week 2
Anthony Ogogo	Oti Mabuse	Week 3
Daniel O'Donnell	Kristina Rihanoff	Week 4
Ainsley Harriott	Natalie Lowe	Week 5
Kirsty Gallacher	Brendan Cole	Week 6
Carol Kirkwood	Pasha Kovalev	Week 7
Jeremy Vine	Karen Clifton	Week 8
Jamelia	Tristan MacManus	Week 9
Peter Andre	Janette Manrara	Week 10
Helen George	Aljaž Škorjanec	Week 11
Anita Rani	Gleb Savchenko	Week 12
Katie Derham	Anton du Beke	Week 13
Georgia May Foote	Giovanni Pernice	Runners-up
Kellie Bright	Kevin Clifton
Jay McGuiness	Aliona Vilani	Series winners

Series 14 (2016)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 14)

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its fourteenth series with a launch show on 3 September 2016 on BBC One. This was Len Goodman'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 last series' champion and two-time professional winner of the show Aliona Vilani, former professional winner Ola Jordan, and two-times professional finalist Kristina Rihanoff as well as Gleb Savchenko and Tristan MacManus. Joanne Clifton was returning after a one series hiatus. The leaving professionals were replaced by Katya Jones, Burn the Floor dancer Gorka Márquez and former Dancing with the Stars US troupe member Oksana Platero. On 26 July 2016, three more new professional dancers were announced as AJ Pritchard, Chloe Hewitt and Neil Jones, husband of new dancer Katya. Chloe 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.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out) (week voted out)
Melvin Odoom	Janette Manrara	Week 2
Tameka Empson	Gorka Márquez	Week 3
Will Young	Karen Clifton	Withdrew
Naga Munchetty	Pasha Kovalev	Week 4
Lesley Joseph	Anton du Beke	Week 5
Anastacia	Brendan Cole Gorka Márquez (week 5)	Week 6
Laura Whitmore	Giovanni Pernice	Week 7
Daisy Lowe	Aljaž Skorjanec	Week 8
Greg Rutherford	Natalie Lowe	Week 9
Ed Balls	Katya Jones	Week 10
Judge Rinder	Oksana Platero	Week 11
Claudia Fragapane	AJ Pritchard	Week 12
Danny Mac	Oti Mabuse	Runners-up
Louise Redknapp	Kevin Clifton
Ore Oduba	Joanne Clifton	Series winners

Series 15 (2017)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 15)

On 4 May 2017, Series 7 finalist, Natalie Lowe announced that she would be departing the show. Five days later, Shirley Ballas announced that she would be replacing Len Goodman as head judge. On 21 June 2017, previous series professional champion, Joanne Clifton, as well as Oksana Platero announced that they would also be leaving. The new professionals replacing them are Australian Open champion, Dianne Buswell, Welsh dancer, Amy Dowden, and Ukrainian two-time world champion, Nadiya Bychkova. On 7 August, Nick Grimshaw announced that Mollie King is the first celebrity to be taking part this series. This is the first series to be broadcast since Sir Bruce Forsyth's death in August that year. In a change to the format of previous five years, there was no elimination in the final, hence there were three runner-up couples this series.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out) (week voted out)
Chizzy Akudolu	Pasha Kovalev	Week 2
Rev. Richard Coles	Dianne Buswell	Week 3
Charlotte Hawkins	Brendan Cole	Week 4
Brian Conley	Amy Dowden	Week 5
Simon Rimmer	Karen Clifton	Week 6
Aston Merrygold	Janette Manrara	Week 7
Ruth Langsford	Anton du Beke	Week 8
Jonnie Peacock	Oti Mabuse	Week 9
Susan Calman	Kevin Clifton	Week 10
Davood Ghadami	Nadiya Bychkova	Week 11
Mollie King	AJ Pritchard	Week 12
Alexandra Burke	Gorka Márquez	Runners-up
Debbie McGee	Giovanni Pernice
Gemma Atkinson	Aljaž Skorjanec
Joe McFadden	Katya Jones	Series winners

Series 16 (2018)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 16)

On 30 January 2018, it was announced that Brendan Cole would no longer perform in the show. On 30 May 2018, the full line-up for professional dancers was announced. Chloe Hewitt left the series, and three new professional dancers, Graziano Di Prima, Johannes Radebe and Luba Mushtuk were announced to be joining the show. This meant that there were 18 professional dancers, the largest in the show's history.

Celebrity	Professional	Result (week voted out) (week voted out)
Susannah Constantine	Anton du Beke	Week 2
Lee Ryan	Nadiya Bychkova	Week 3
Katie Piper	Gorka Márquez	Week 4
Ashley Roberts	Pasha Kovalev	Participating
Charles Venn	Karen Clifton	Participating
Danny John-Jules	Amy Dowden	Participating
Faye Tozer	Giovanni Pernice	Participating
Graeme Swann	Oti Mabuse	Participating
Joe Sugg	Dianne Buswell	Participating
Kate Silverton	Aljaž Skorjanec	Participating
Lauren Steadman	AJ Pritchard	Participating
Dr. Ranj Singh	Janette Manrara	Participating
Seann Walsh	Katya Jones	Participating
Stacey Dooley	Kevin Clifton	Participating
Vick Hope	Graziano Di Prima	Participating

Specials

Christmas specials

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Specials

The Christmas specials have been broadcast each year since 2004. The first special was broadcast the week before Christmas 2004, in 2005 it was broadcast on Christmas Eve, and from 2006 they have been broadcast on Christmas Day. Every Christmas Special has been hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly and Forsyth continued to host these editions from 2014 after he left the live shows until he announced he would not be appearing on the 2015 Christmas special- due to ill health- from which he died in 2017, so Daly and Winkleman have presented the special together since 2016.

Trivia

• Darren Gough & Lilia Kopylova and Jill Halfpenny & Darren Bennett are the only two couples to have won the Christmas Special twice. They have both won the main series.
• The Christmas Special was not held in Series 1 because the main series was held in the summer. However, it has been held from Series 2 to the present day.
• From Series 2 - Series 7, celebrities from previous series would perform. From Series 8 - Series 11, celebrities who did not have time to do the show would perform. From Series 12 - present, celebrities from previous series would perform.

Strictly Ice Dancing

Strictly Ice Dancing was broadcast as a one-off special on 26 December 2004; with Carol Smillie, Jessica Taylor, Scarlett Alice 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 Alice Johnson	Daniel Whiston	22
Jessica Taylor	Robert Burgerman	34
David Seaman	Zoia Birmingham	33

Strictly Ice Dancing was identical to the ITV format Dancing on Ice, although details of Dancing on Ice were revealed before Strictly Ice Dancing was commissioned.

Strictly African Dancing

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:

• Tunde Baiyewu
• Louis Emerick
• Tupele Dorgu
• Tessa Sanderson
• Antonia Okonma
• Robbie Earle

The London cast of the musical The Lion King, led by South-African actress Brown Lindiwe Mkhize, took part in this broadcast. The company performed the trademark song "Circle of Life".

Sport Relief Does Strictly Come Dancing

2008

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. Five former Strictly contestants related to sport partnered a new celebrity.

The results were as follows:

Contestant	Celebrity	Judges' scores	Dance
Denise Lewis	David Ginola	7+7+7=21	Waltz
Roger Black	Jade Johnson	8+6+8=22	Cha Cha Cha
Darren Gough	Gemma Bissix	7+7+8=22	American Smooth
Matt Dawson	Elaine Paige	8+9+8=25	Tango
Mark Ramprakash	Kara Tointon	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."

2010

Celebrity	Professional	Judges' scores	Dance
Peter Jones	Natalie Lowe	4+7+5=16	Tango
Duncan Bannatyne	Lilia Kopylova	2+5+3=10	Cha Cha Cha

2012

Strictly Come Dancing did an underwater special for Sport Relief 2012. The contestants were 2011 champion Harry Judd and runner-up Chelsee Healey. The judges were Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Mark Foster. It was presented by Claudia Winkleman.

Celebrity	Professional	Judges' scores
Harry Judd	Aliona Vilani	9+8+8+10=35
Chelsee Healey	Pasha Kovalev	8+8+9+10=35

After the initial scores resulted in a draw, Len (as Head Judge) had the deciding vote. He chose Chelsee and Pasha therefore they won the contest.

2014

Strictly Come Dancing did a Paralympians special for Sport Relief 2014. The contestants were David Clarke, Hannah Cockroft, Nathan Stephens and Martine Wright. The judges were Goodman, Tonioli, Darcey Bussell and Lee Pearson; however, no scores were given. The series was presented by Tess Daly.

Celebrity	Professional
David Clarke	Karen Hauer
Hannah Cockroft	Pasha Kovalev
Nathan Stephens	Iveta Lukosiute
Martine Wright	Ian Waite

Children in Need

2008

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:

Children in Need host	Professional	Judges' scores	Dance
Tess Daly	Anton du Beke	9+9+9+9=36	American Smooth
Terry Wogan	Flavia Cacace	7+8+7+7=29	Waltz

2009

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 did not appear in this unlike the previous year when judges rated Terry's performance.

2010

A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Children in Need was broadcast on 19 November 2010, with Tess Daly presenting the show and Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman, Terry Wogan and Pudsey Bear judging.

The results were as follows:

Pop star	Professional	Judges' scores	Dance	Music
Harry Judd	Ola Jordan	35 (9,9,7,10)	Paso Doble	"Ego"—The Saturdays
Rochelle Wiseman	Ian Waite	33 (6,9,8,10)	American Smooth	"All About You"—McFly

2011

In November 2011, BBC newsreaders Sian Williams, Sophie Raworth, Susanna Reid and Emily Maitlis performed a group dance to Katy Perry's "Firework". Susanna and Robin won with three of the judges' votes. Angela Rippon also made an appearance in the dance, alongside the women. Susanna then went on to compete as a contestant in the eleventh series of the show in 2013.

Newsreader	Professional	Judges' votes	Dance	Music	Result
Susanna Reid	Robin Windsor	Sian, Susanna, Susanna, Susanna	Cha-Cha-Cha	"Firework"—Katy Perry	Winner (3 votes)
Sian Williams	Vincent Simone				Loser (1 vote)
Sophie Raworth	Ian Waite				Loser
Emily Maitlis	Pasha Kovalev				Loser

2012

A one-off special for Children in Need 2012 was broadcast on 16 November 2012 with Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly hosting, and judges Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman, and Bruno Tonioli. Fan favourites Ann Widdecombe and Russell Grant made a special appearance in a parody of The Queen's Olympic opening ceremony scene with Daniel Craig as James Bond, and danced an "Angels and Demons" routine with their partners Anton du Beke and Flavia Cacace. Bruno voted for Ann and Anton, but Craig, Darcey, and Len all chose Russell and Flavia, who took home the Pudsey-on-a-glitter-ball trophy.

Strictly fan favourite	Professional	Judges' votes	Dance	Music	Result
Russell Grant	Flavia Cacace	Russell, Russell, Russell, Ann	Medley	"Hernando's Hideaway"/"Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel"/"Better the Devil You Know"/"Boogie Wonderland"	Winner (3 votes)
Ann Widdecombe	Anton Du Beke				Loser (1 vote)

2013

A one-off special was broadcast for Children in Need 2013 on 15 November 2013. Sir Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly hosted the show, and was judged by Len Goodman, Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli. The show featured professional ice skaters Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, who were partnered with James Jordan and Aliona Vilani. Bussell voted for Chris and Aliona, but Tonioli and Goodman voted for Jayne and James, who won the show and took home the Pudsey-on-a-glitter-ball trophy.

2014

The judges were: Revel Horwood, Bussell, Goodman & Tonioli. There were two teams with one children couple and one of the shows professional as a couple, Team Glitter's pros were Natalie Lowe & Anton Du Beke and Team Sparkle's pros were Aliona Vilani & Tristan MacManus. Team Glitter took home the trophy.

2015

On 13 August 2015, it was announced that Call the Midwife actors Jenny Agutter, Laura Main, Stephen McGann and Jack Ashton would appear on the 2015 Children in Need special. Tess Daly hosted the show, along with former presenter Sir Bruce Forsyth in what was Forsyth's final formal television appearance prior to his death in 2017.

Actor	Professional	Judges Vote	Dance	Result
Jenny Agutter	Ian Waite	Laura & Brendan	Medley	Loser
Laura Main	Brendan Cole			Winner
Stephen McGann	Joanne Clifton			Loser
Jack Ashton	Oti Mabuse			Loser

2016

On 18 November 2016, British olympians Canoeist Joe Clarke, Hockey player Hollie Webb, Taekwando athlete, Lutalo Muhammad and Rower Helen Glover competed in the 2016 Children in Need Special. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman presented the show, making it the first Children in Need not co-presented by Sir Bruce Forsyth.

Olympian	Professional	Judges Vote	Dance	Result
Joe Clarke	Janette Manrara	Lutalo & Karen	Medley	Loser
Hollie Webb	Neil Jones			Loser
Lutalo Muhammad	Karen Clifton			Winner
Helen Glover	Pasha Kovalev			Loser

2017

The BBC announced that former and current Blue Peter presenters would take part in the 2017 special.

Presenter	Professional	Judges Vote	Dance	Result
Anthea Turner	Brendan Cole	Mark & Amy	Group Jive	Loser
Diane-Louise Jordan	Pasha Kovalev			Loser
Konnie Huq	Neil Jones			Loser
Mark Curry	Amy Dowden			Winner
Radzi Chinyanganya	Chloe Hewitt			Loser
Tim Vincent	Dianne Buswell			Loser

The People's Strictly for Comic Relief

On 11 September 2014, the BBC announced that a special non-celebrity version of the show would air for Comic Relief 2015. It featured six inspirational heroes who underwent four weeks of training before performing live in the studio.

The series began airing on 25 February 2015 over four pre-recorded episodes, the first two episodes introduced the contestants, the third episode on 5 March followed their training and preparation for the show. The fourth episode on 11 March saw the couples take to the dance floor, with the winner decided via an online public vote and announced live on Red Nose Day 2015 on 13 March.

The series was hosted by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, and judged by Bussell, Tonioli and Goodman alongside guest judge Anton du Beke. Craig Revel Horwood did not take part as a judge due to prior commitments. The judges' scores were for guidance only.

Inspirational hero	Professional	Judges' scores	Dance	Music
Philip Barnett	Janette Manrara	40 (10,10,10,10)	American Smooth	"Big Spender"
Trishna Bharadia	Aljaž Skorjanec	35 (9,9,9,8)	Jive	"Runaround Sue"
Anna Kennedy	Robin Windsor	40 (10,10,10,10)	Charleston	"Charleston"
Cassidy Little	Natalie Lowe	40 (10,10,10,10)	Paso doble	"O Fortuna"
Heather Parsons	Ian Waite	36 (9,9,9,9)	Viennese Waltz	"She's Always a Woman"
Michael Pattie	Aliona Vilani	33 (8,8,9,8)	Tango	"Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps"

The Weakest Link Special 2008

On 27 December 2008, a special episode of The Weakest Link was broadcast on BBC One 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:

• Craig Revel Horwood
• Arlene Phillips
• Kristina Rihanoff
• Camilla Dallerup
• Mark Ramprakash
• Brendan Cole
• Heather Small
• Anton du Beke
• Mark Foster

Strictly Come Dancing Live!

The Live Tour! 2008

Strictly Come Dancing went on tour at the beginning of 2008 for the first time. The tour was hosted by Kate Thornton, and judged by Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, and Len Goodman. Bruno Tonioli was not a judge in this competition due to him being in Los Angeles. The tour began on 18 January 2008 in Glasgow and finished on 19 February 2008 in Birmingham.

Celebrity dancers taking part were:

• Series 1 runner up Christopher Parker and Nicole Cutler
• Series 2 runner up Denise Lewis and Matthew Cutler
• Series 3 winner Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova
• Series 3 contestant James Martin and Camilla Dallerup
• Series 5 contestant Letitia Dean and Darren Bennett
• Series 4 contestant Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone
• Series 5 runner up Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace
• Series 3 finalist Zoë Ball and Ian Waite

Christopher Parker's original partner Hannah Karttunen did not dance with him as she had left the show before this tour. Denise Lewis also had a different partner as her original partner Ian Waite danced with more recent partner Zoë Ball. Instead she danced with Matthew Cutler

Strictly Professionals James Jordan and Ola Jordan also performed a routine together.

The results of the tour are as follows:

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places	%Wins
Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace	8	13	10	40%
Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone	4	10	3	25%
Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova	3	8	10	20%
Zoë Ball and Ian Waite	3	5	14	12.5%
Letitia Dean and Darren Bennett	5	1	2	2.5%

Denise Lewis, Christopher Parker or James Martin were not winners or runners up at any stage of the tour.

The Live Tour! 2009

The Strictly Come Dancing Tour returned in January and February 2009. Kate Thornton returned to host, and all four judges from the TV series took part.

Celebrity dancers taking part were:

• Series 6 contestant Cherie Lunghi and James Jordan
• Series 5 contestant Gethin Jones and Flavia Cacace
• Series 2 winner Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett
• Series 6 contestant Jodie Kidd and Ian Waite
• Series 3 finalist Julian Clary and Lilia Kopylova
• Series 5 contestant Kenny Logan and Ola Jordan
• Series 6 runner up Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone
• Series 6 winner Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup

The couples and results of the tour were as follows:

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places	%Wins
Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone	6	26	14	58%
Gethin Jones and Flavia Cacace	5	6	6	13%
Kenny Logan and Ola Jordan			0
Julian Clary and Lilia Kopylova	2	3	13	7%
Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett			9
Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup	6	1	2	2%
Cherie Lunghi and James Jordan		0	1	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 Live Tour! 2010

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 four members:

• Craig Revel Horwood
• Len Goodman (did not appear at every performance)
• Arlene Phillips (did not appear at every performance)
• Bruno Tonioli

The following celebrities and professional dancers starred in the tour:

• Series 7 semi-finalist Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna
• Series 5 contestant Kelly Brook and Matthew Cutler
• Series 7 winner Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan
• Series 4 winner Mark Ramprakash and Kristina Rihanoff
• Series 7 contestant Ricky Groves and Aliona Vilani
• Series 7 contestant Natalie Cassidy and Darren Bennett
• Series 7 contestant Zöe Lucker and James Jordan
• Series 6 contestant Austin Healey and Lilia Kopylova

Two other pro dancers danced on the tour:

• Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe

Couple	Series	Number of wins	%Wins
Austin Healey and Lilia Kopylova	6	23	52%
Mark Ramprakash and Kristina Rihanoff	4	20	44%
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna	7	2	4%

Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals Tour 2010

Nine professional show dancers took part in the first Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals Tour between April to July 2010. It featured:

• Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace
• Matthew Cutler and Aliona Vilani
• James Jordan and Ola Jordan
• Brian Fortuna and Kristina Rihanoff
• Ian Waite

The Live Tour! 2011

The Strictly Come Dancing 2011 UK tour returned to UK arenas during January and February 2011. Zoë Ball joined as host. Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman returned as judges. The celebrities and professionals who participated were:

• Series 7 runner up Ricky Whittle and Natalie Lowe
• Series 8 contestant Tina O'Brien and Jared Murillo
• Series 8 finalist Pamela Stephenson and James Jordan
• Series 8 winner Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev
• Series 3 runner up Colin Jackson and Ola Jordan
• Series 8 contestant Patsy Kensit and Robin Windsor
• Series 8 contestant Jimi Mistry and Kristina Rihanoff
• Series 8 runner up Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani
• Series 8 contestant Ann Widdecombe and judge Craig Revel Horwood

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places	%Wins
Matt Baker and Aliona Vilani	8	26	8	74%
Pamela Stephenson and James Jordan		8	11	23%
Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev		1	16	3%

Also making a guest appearance in the tour was Fever Dance Company and their amazing formation team.

The Live Tour! 2012

The Strictly Come Dancing 2012 UK tour began its run on 20 January and finished on 26 February. The venues hosting the tour were:

• National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
• Capital FM Arena, Nottingham
• Wembley Arena and O2 Arena, London
• Evening News Arena, Manchester
• Sheffield Arena, Sheffield
• Echo Arena, Liverpool
• Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle
• SECC, Glasgow
• Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff
• The O2, Dublin
• Odyssey Arena, Belfast

Kate Thornton returned as host. Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman returned as judges. Horwood directed the tour for the second year.

The celebrities and professionals who participated were:

• Series 9 contestant Anita Dobson and Robin Windsor
• Series 9 runner-up Chelsee Healey and Pasha Kovalev
• Series 9 winner Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani
• Series 9 finalist Jason Donovan and Kristina Rihanoff
• Series 6 contestant Mark Foster and Natalie Lowe
• Series 9 contestant Nancy Dell'Olio and Artem Chigvintsev
• Series 9 contestant Robbie Savage and Katya Virshilas

Ian Waite performed with Natalie on the tour, but did not partner a celebrity.

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Times as runner-up	%wins
Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani	9	30	11	73%
Robbie Savage and Katya Virshilas		6	1	15%
Chelsee Healey and Pasha Kovalev		3	15	7%
Jason Donovan and Kristina Rihanoff		2	13	5%
Anita Dobson and Robin Windsor		0	1	0%

The Live Tour! 2013

The Strictly Come Dancing 2013 UK tour began its run on 18 January 2013. The confirmed line-up of celebrities and professionals for the tour is as follows:

• Series 10 finalist Dani Harmer and Pasha Kovalev
• Series 10 runner-up Denise van Outen and James Jordan
• Series 10 contestant Fern Britton and Artem Chigvintsev
• Series 10 semi-finalist Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor
• Series 10 winner Louis Smith and Ola Jordan
• Series 10 contestant Michael Vaughan and Natalie Lowe
• Series 7 contestant Phil Tufnell and Karen Hauer

Kate Thornton returned as host; Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman returned as judges. Iveta Lukosiute also performed on the tour, but did not partner a celebrity. Louis Smith and Ola Jordan were the overall champions of the tour, with the most wins.

Couples	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places	%Wins
Louis Smith and Ola Jordan	10	29	2	94%
Denise van Outen and James Jordan		1	26	3%
Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor			0
Dani Harmer and Pasha Kovalev		0	3	0%

The Live Tour! 2014

The Strictly Come Dancing 2014 UK Tour begun on 17 January 2014 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and ended at The O2 Arena on 7 February. The tour was hosted by former contestant Lisa Riley, and Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Len Goodman returned as judges.

The following celebrities and professionals took part:

• Series 11 contestant Mark Benton and Iveta Lukosiute
• Series 11 contestant Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff
• Series 11 runner-up Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton
• Series 11 runner-up Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev
• Series 11 winner Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Škorjanec
• Series 11 contestant Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor
• Series 10 contestant Nicky Byrne and Karen Hauer

Natalie Lowe also featured on the tour, but did not partner a celebrity.

This is the first series of The Live Tour! in which all of the celebrities danced with their original partners.

Couple	Series	Number of wins	%Wins
Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev	11	19	61%
Susanna Reid and Kevin Clifton		6	19%
Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Skorjanec		2	6%
Ben Cohen and Kristina Rihanoff		1	3%
Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor
Mark Benton and Iveta Lukosiute
Nicky Byrne and Karen Hauer	10

The Live Tour! 2015

The Strictly Come Dancing 2015 UK Tour began on 16 January 2015 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and concluded at The O2 Arena on 8 February 2015. The tour was hosted by former contestant and It Takes Two host Zoë Ball for the second time. Craig Revel Horwood returned as judge, but Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli did not take part due to other commitments including Dancing with the Stars in the United States, so they were replaced by Series 6 champion Tom Chambers and his professional partner Camilla Dallerup. Anton du Beke was also a judge in the Echo Arena, Liverpool and Wembley Arena, London. Len Goodman was a judge just for the O2 show on 8 February and on that same show the presenter was Lisa Riley.

The following celebrities and professionals took part:

• Series 12 contestant Thom Evans and Iveta Lukosiute
• Series 12 winner Caroline Flack and Tristan MacManus
• Series 12 contestant Alison Hammond and Aljaž Skorjanec
• Series 12 contestant Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton
• Series 12 runner-up Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff
• Series 12 finalist Mark Wright and Karen Hauer
• Series 6 runner-up Rachel Stevens and Kevin Clifton^A

Caroline Flack danced with Tristan MacManus not her partner in the series Pasha Kovalev

Trent Whiddon also featured on the tour to dance with Iveta, but did not partner a celebrity. Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff are the overall champions of the tour, with the most wins.

Pro Partners on the tour were as follows:

• Kevin Clifton and Karen Clifton
• Tristan MacManus and Kristina Rihanoff
• Aljaz Skorjanec and Joanne Clifton
• Trent Whiddon and Iveta Lukosiute

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Times as runner-up	%Wins
Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff	12	16	1	57%
Caroline Flack and Tristan MacManus		5		18%
Rachel Stevens and Kevin Clifton	6	3		11%
Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton	12	1
Mark Wright and Karen Hauer			0
Alison Hammond and Aljaž Skorjanec
Thom Evans and Iveta Lukosiute

^A Frankie Bridge was originally supposed to take part, but had to pull out due to illness of pregnancy, so Stevens took her place.

The Live Tour! 2016

The 2016 tour started on 22 January and finished on 14 February. The new presenter was Mel Giedroyc and the judges were Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

• Series 13 contestant Ainsley Harriott and Karen Clifton^a
• Series 12 runner-up Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton
• Series 13 runner-up Georgia May Foote and Giovanni Pernice
• Series 13 semi-finalist Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko^b
• Series 13 winner Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani
• Series 13 contestant Helen George and Aljaž Skorjanec
• Series 12 semi-finalist Jake Wood and Janette Manrara

Joanne Clifton was also featured on the tour, but not partner a celebrity.

Pro Partners on the tour were as follows:

• Kevin Clifton and Karen Clifton
• Giovanni Pernice and Aliona Vilani
• Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara
• Gleb Savchenko and Joanne Clifton

Couple	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places	%Wins
Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani	24	6	80%
Anita Rani and Gleb Savchenko	6	23	20%
Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton	0	1	0%

^a Natalie Lowe was scheduled to dance on the tour but she sustained an injury during tour rehearsals. Karen Clifton, who was already set to dance on the tour without a celebrity partner, took over for Lowe.

^b Mel Giedroyc was ill on 9 February so Anita Rani hosted instead. However, she still performed her Paso Doble but not for votes.

The Live Tour! 2017

The 2017 tour was presented by 2015 semi-finalist Anita Rani. The judges were Craig Revel Horwood, Len Goodman and Karen Hardy. The tour started on 20 January and finished on 12 February.

The full tour line up was announced on 14 December:

• Series 14 runner up Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton
• Series 14 contestant Daisy Lowe and Aljaž Skorjanec
• Series 14 runner up Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse
• Series 14 contestant Ed Balls and Katya Jones
• Series 14 winner Ore Oduba and Karen Clifton
• Series 14 contestant Lesley Joseph and Gorka Márquez

Due to Ed Balls not dancing in Manchester, Judge Rinder and Oksana Platero will replace him on the 4 and 5 February.

Extra Dancers on Tour who are dancing in Group Dances:

• Giovanni Pernice and Janette Manrara
• AJ Pritchard and Chloe Hewitt
• Neil Jones and Oksana Platero

Couple	Number of Wins	Wins%
Louise Redknapp and Kevin Clifton	14	45%
Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse
Daisy Lowe and Aljaž Skorjanec	1	5%
Ed Balls and Katya Jones

The Live Tour! 2018

The 2018 tour was presented by 2016 champion Ore Oduba. The judges were Craig Revel Horwood, Bruno Tonioli and Darcey Bussell. The tour started on 19 January and finished on 11 February.

The full tour line up was announced on 14 December:

• Series 15 runner up Alexandra Burke and Gorka Márquez
• Series 15 runner up Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice
• Series 15 runner up Gemma Atkinson and Aljaž Skorjanec
• Series 15 winner Joe McFadden and Katya Jones
• Series 15 contestant Davood Ghadami and Nadiya Bychkova
• Series 15 contestant Susan Calman and Kevin Clifton
• Series 15 contestant Jonnie Peacock and Oti Mabuse

Couples	Number of Wins	Wins%
Susan Calman & Kevin Clifton	11	37%
Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice	9	30%
Gemma Atkinson & Aljaž Skorjanec	5	17%
Joe McFadden & Katya Jones	4	13%
Jonnie Peacock & Oti Mabuse	1	3%

Statistics

Highest-scoring celebrities

The scores presented below represent the best overall accumulative average scores the celebrities gained each series.

Female

Rank	Series	Place	Celebrity	Professional	Average score
1	11	Runner-up	Natalie Gumede	Artem Chigvintsev	36.88
2	5	Champion	Alesha Dixon	Matthew Cutler	36.50
3	15	Runner-up	Alexandra Burke	Gorka Márquez	36.44
4	14	Runner-up	Louise Redknapp	Kevin Clifton	35.87
5	6	Runner-up	Rachel Stevens	Vincent Simone	35.81
6	8	Champion	Kara Tointon	Artem Chigvintsev	35.69
7	11	Champion	Abbey Clancy	Aljaz Skorjanec	35.63
8	15	Runner-up	Debbie McGee	Giovanni Pernice	35.44
9	9	Runner-up	Chelsee Healey	Pasha Kovalev	35.31
10	10	Runner-up	Denise van Outen	James Jordan	35.13
	12	Champion	Caroline Flack	Pasha Kovalev	35.13

Male

Rank	Series	Place	Celebrity	Professional	Average score
1	14	Runner-up	Danny Mac	Oti Mabuse	36.62
2	7	Runner-up	Ricky Whittle	Natalie Lowe	35.89
3	14	Champion	Ore Oduba	Joanne Clifton	35.69
4	9	Champion	Harry Judd	Aliona Vilani	35.63
5	9	3rd Place	Jason Donovan	Kristina Rihanoff	34.80
6	6	Champion	Tom Chambers	Camilla Dallerup	34.50
	6	4th place	Austin Healey	Erin Boag	34.50
8	8	Runner-up	Matt Baker	Aliona Vilani	34.31
9	13	Champion	Jay McGuiness	Aliona Vilani	34.06
10	15	Champion	Joe McFadden	Katya Jones	33.75

Lowest-scoring celebrities

The scores presented below represent the worst overall accumulative average score the celebrities gained each series.

Female

Rank	Series	Place	Celebrity	Professional	Average score
1	16	Last place	Susannah Constantine	Anton du Beke	12.00
2	2	9th place	Fiona Phillips	Brendan Cole	15.00
	3	Last place	Siobhan Hayes	Matthew Cutler	15.00
4	9	11th place	Nancy Dell'Olio	Anton du Beke	15.60
5	8	6th place	Ann Widdecombe	Anton du Beke	16.20
6	15	13th place	Charlotte Hawkins	Brendan Cole	17.50
	16	13th place	Katie Piper	Gorka Márquez	17.50
7	13	10th place	Carol Kirkwood	Pasha Kovalev	18.00
	9	13th place	Jerry Hall	Anton du Beke	18.00
	10	Last place	Edwina Currie	Vincent Simone	18.00

Male

Rank	Series	Place	Celebrity	Professional	Average score
1	2	Last place	Quentin Willson	Hazel Newberry	8.00
2	2	7th place	Diarmuid Gavin	Nicole Cutler	13.75
3	4	Last place	Nicholas Owen	Nicole Cutler	14.00
4	11	Last place	Tony Jacklin	Aliona Vilani	14.50
5	13	Last place	Iwan Thomas	Ola Jordan	15.00
6	15	14th place	Rev. Richard Coles	Dianne Buswell	16.00
7	4	Withdrew	Jimmy Tarbuck	Flavia Cacace	17.00
8	6	14th place	Gary Rhodes	Karen Hardy	17.50
9	8	13th place	Paul Daniels	Ola Jordan	17.67
10	5	Last place	Brian Capron	Karen Hardy	18.00

Judges' scores

On forty-seven occasions, a perfect 40 out of 40 has been awarded inside the main series (including three perfect 50 out of 50s in Series 7). Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev, and Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse both hold the record for most perfect scores with four forties. Kovalev also holds the record for most perfect scores by a professional dancer with eight forties. On another eight occasions, a couple scored 40/40 on a Christmas Special. The Rumba is the only dance style not to have received the perfect score.

Here is a table showing all of the perfect scores achieved by number of perfect scores

By Celebrity:

Number of 40s/50s	Series	Place	Celebrity	Professional
4	12 14	Champion Runner-up	Caroline Flack Danny Mac	Pasha Kovalev Oti Mabuse
3	6 8 10 11 15	3rd Place 3rd Place Runner-up Runner-up Runner-up	Lisa Snowdon Pamela Stephenson Kimberley Walsh Natalie Gumede Alexandra Burke	Brendan Cole James Jordan Pasha Kovalev Artem Chigvintsev Gorka Márquez
2	6 7 9 9 10 11 13 14 15	Runner-up 3rd Place Champion 3rd Place Runner-up Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up	Rachel Stevens Ali Bastian Harry Judd Jason Donovan Denise Van Outen Abbey Clancy Kellie Bright Ore Oduba Debbie McGee	Vincent Simone Brian Fortuna Aliona Vilani Kristina Rihanoff James Jordan Aljaž Skorjanec Kevin Clifton Joanne Clifton Giovanni Pernice
1	2 4 5 7 7 9 10 12 13 14 15	Champion Champion Runner-up Champion Runner-up Runner-up Champion Runner-up Runner-up Runner-up Champion	Jill Halfpenny Mark Ramprakash Matt Di Angelo Chris Hollins Ricky Whittle Chelsee Healey Louis Smith Simon Webbe Georgia May Foote Louise Redknapp Joe McFadden	Darren Bennett Karen Hardy Flavia Cacace Ola Jordan Natalie Lowe Pasha Kovalev Flavia Cacace Kristina Rihanoff Giovanni Pernice Kevin Clifton Katya Jones

By Professional:

Number of 40s/50s	Professional
8	Pasha Kovalev
5	James Jordan
4	Oti Mabuse
3	Brendan Cole Artem Chigvintsev Kristina Rihanoff Kevin Clifton Gorka Márquez Giovanni Pernice
2	Vincent Simone Brian Fortuna Aliona Vilani Flavia Cacace Aljaž Skorjanec Joanne Clifton
1	Darren Bennett Karen Hardy Ola Jordan Natalie Lowe Katya Jones

The lowest score the judges have ever awarded was 8/40 (1,1,3,3) to Quentin Willson and Hazel Newberry for their Cha Cha Cha. Eleven individual ones have been awarded in the entirety of Strictly Come Dancing, with ten of those coming from Craig Revel Horwood and the other coming from Arlene Philips. Ann Widdecombe holds the current record for the most ones, receiving ones from Revel Horwood for her Salsa, Samba, and Rumba. The biggest margin between two singular judges scores is five, awarded to Jason Wood and Kylie Jones for their Rumba (2,5,7,5), Christopher Parker and Hanna Karttunen for their Tango (2,6,7,6), Gary Rhodes and Karen Hardy for their Cha-Cha-Cha (1,5,6,5), Scott Maslen and Natalie Lowe for their Rumba (4,9,7,8), Mark Benton and Iveta Lukosiute for their Cha-Cha-Cha (3,8,8,7), and Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton for their Samba with Donny Osmond (2,5,7,5,6).

Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka Márquez hold the record of most tens with 32, then that is followed by Ricky Whittle and his partner Natalie Lowe with 28. However, if the four tens given by Darcey Bussell during her tenure as a fifth judge are removed, he is behind Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse, with 26 tens, and Rachel Stevens and her partner Vincent Simone and Harry Judd and his partner Aliona Vilani with 25 each. They are followed by Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev, and Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton with 24 each, Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev with 23, Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Skorjanec with 22, Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev with 21 and Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole, Kimberley Walsh and Pasha Kovalev and Denise van Outen and James Jordan with 20. Of these celebrities, Snowdon and Cole and Flack and Kovalev are the only pairings to receive straight tens from the judges in all of their dances in their respective series finals. Flack and Kovalev are the only pair to manage three sets of perfect 40 marks in the final, and also hold the records for the longest consecutive streak of 40 marks with four, that includes their Salsa in the semi-final show, and the longest consecutive streak of tens, that adds to a total of 16.

Gumede and Chigvintsev also have the best average score from the judges out of all contestants on every series being 36.9/40 for their dances. Danny Mac and Oti Mabuse, and Alesha Dixon and her partner Matthew Cutler, follow, with averages of 36.6 and 36.5 respectively. Quentin Willson, Diarmuid Gavin and Nicholas Owen hold averages of 8.0, 13.8 and 14.0, the lowest of any celebrities so far.

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 on Christmas or any other 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 Ricky Whittle'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. The Rumba is the only dance that has not received the full mark of 40, the highest score being 39/40. Winner of series 12, Caroline Flack, and runner-up of series 14, Danny Mac, hold the record for receiving the most perfect scores as a celebrity with four. With eight perfect scores, Flack's partner Pasha Kovalev holds the record for most perfect scores by a professional dancer.

Dance	Couple	Highest score	Couple	Lowest score
American Smooth (Series 3–present)	Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev Alexandra Burke & Gorka Márquez	40	Ann Widdecombe & Anton du Beke	14
Argentine Tango (Series 4–present)	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani Simon Webbe & Kristina Rihanoff Louise Redknapp & Kevin Clifton Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice		Colin Salmon & Kristina Rihanoff Michael Vaughan & Natalie Lowe	26
Cha Cha Cha	Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole Caroline Flack & Pasha Kovalev		Quentin Willson & Hazel Newberry	8
Charleston (Series 7–present)	Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev Denise van Outen & James Jordan Caroline Flack & Pasha Kovalev Georgia May Foote & Giovanni Pernice Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse Joe McFadden & Katya Jones		Tony Jacklin & Aliona Vilani	13
Foxtrot	Rachel Stevens & Vincent Simone Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole		Susannah Constantine & Anton du Beke	12
Jive	Jill Halfpenny & Darren Bennett Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton Alexandra Burke & Gorka Márquez		Michael Vaughan & Natalie Lowe Seann Walsh & Katya Jones	15
Paso Doble	Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev		Katie Piper & Gorka Márquez	13
Quickstep	Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani		Diarmuid Gavin & Nicole Cutler	12
Rumba	Rachel Stevens & Vincent Simone Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev Jay McGuiness & Aliona Vilani	39	Fiona Phillips & Brendan Cole Carol Kirkwood & Pasha Kovalev	13
Salsa (Series 4–present)	Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev Caroline Flack & Pasha Kovalev Alexandra Burke & Gorka Márquez	40	Ann Widdecombe & Anton du Beke	12
Samba	Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse		Susannah Constantine & Anton du Beke	12
Showdance (Series 1, 7–present)	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff Denise van Outen & James Jordan Louis Smith & Flavia Cacace Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev Caroline Flack & Pasha Kovalev Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton Ore Oduba & Joanne Clifton Danny Mac & Oti Mabuse		Christopher Parker & Hanna Karttunen	22
Tango	Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev Kellie Bright & Kevin Clifton Debbie McGee & Giovanni Pernice		Diarmuid Gavin & Nicole Cutler	14
Viennese Waltz (Series 3–present)	Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan		Susan Calman & Kevin Clifton	20
Waltz	Matt Di Angelo & Flavia Cacace Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec		Fiona Phillips & Brendan Cole	11

Oldest and youngest contestants and series winners

Television presenter Johnny Ball, who was 74 when he competed in 2012, is the oldest contestant; he was older than magician Paul Daniels and actress Lesley Joseph, who were 72 & 71 when they competed in 2010 & 2016 respectively. Actress Louisa Lytton, who was 17 when she competed in 2006, remains the youngest contestant. Actor Joe McFadden, who was 42 when he competed in 2017, is the oldest series winner and gymnast Louis Smith, who was 23 when he competed in 2012, is the youngest series winner. At 20, Christopher Parker and Matt Di Angelo are the youngest contestants to make it to the finale. while Dr. Pamela Stephenson is the oldest, at the age of 61.

Highest and lowest scores

Series 8 contestant Ann Widdecombe holds the record for the most lowest scores, with a highest score of 21/40 and lowest score of 12/40. Series 2 contestant Quentin Willson holds the record for the overall lowest score of 8/40 (1,1,3,3) and lowest average 8.0/40.0. Series 11 contestant Natalie Gumede holds the highest average score with 36.9/40.0. Series 12 winner Caroline Flack and series 14 runner-up Danny Mac hold the record for the most perfect scores with four 40s. Series 13 contestant Jamelia holds the record for being in the most dance-offs, which is 5. Series 15 contestant Debbie McGee holds the record for getting the earliest ever 40 in the competition which was in week 7, for her Tango. This was also the first 40 with Shirley Ballas as the head judge.

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 - 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 survive. 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 complants about the incident, while media regulator Ofcom 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 their 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 [had] been 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 2008, tabloid newspaper The Sun reported that the then 66-year-old judge Arlene Phillips, who had judged the show since its inception in 2004, was to replaced by series five winner Alesha Dixon, then aged 30. This was later confirmed by the BBC in July of that year. Subsequently, the BBC was accused of ageism and sexism by several sources, an accusation the corporation has faced before over the removal of several older presenters, including Moira Stuart, Juliet Morris, Miriam O'Reilly, Michaela Strachan, Charlotte Smith and Anna Ford. 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 and by Phillips herself.

Race row

In 2009, during the seventh series, professional dancer Anton du Beke issued a public apology for his use of a racial slur during a conversation with his dance partner Laila Rouass. 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, 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, CJ de Mooi said that he was turned down for the show because he had wanted to dance with a same-sex partner. In response, the BBC said "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, Susan Calman, Robert Rinder, Richard Coles and Ranj Singh. Strictly Come Dancing judges Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood have both expressed their support for introducing same-sex couples.

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 and newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky during the initial series: they both denied the affair, but the surrounding controversy resulted in the ending of both their long term relationships.

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, a phenomenon known as TV pick-up. National Grid personnel watch the show to know when closing credits begin so they can prepare for the surge.

All ratings are from BARB. Series averages exclude Christmas special and launch show.

Series	Series premiere		Series finale		Series Average
	Air date	Viewers (millions)	Date	Viewers (millions)	Viewers (millions)
1	15 May 2004	4.61	3 July 2004	9.28	6.45
2	23 October 2004	6.54	11 December 2004	11.60	9.02
3	15 October 2005	7.23	17 December 2005	10.55	8.44
4	7 October 2006	9.23	23 December 2006	12.11	8.57
5	6 October 2007	7.68	22 December 2007	12.09	8.57
6	20 September 2008	8.48	20 December 2008	12.03	9.63
7	18 September 2009	8.43	19 December 2009	11.29	9.22
8	1 October 2010	9.60	18 December 2010	14.28	11.23
9	30 September 2011	9.14	17 December 2011	13.16	10.97
10	5 October 2012	9.22	22 December 2012	13.35	10.80
11	27 September 2013	9.33	21 December 2013	12.79	10.71
12	26 September 2014	8.21	20 December 2014	11.67	10.25
13	25 September 2015	9.22	19 December 2015	12.47	10.62
14	23 September 2016	9.30	17 December 2016	13.30	11.09
15	23 September 2017	11.04	16 December 2017	13.01	11.14

Awards

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 four BAFTA Award nominations.

The show won the award of 'Most Popular Talent Show' at the National Television Awards in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017

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.

Year	Award	Category	Nominee	Result
2011	TRIC Awards	Best TV Reality Programme	Strictly Come Dancing	Won
2012	National Reality TV Awards	Best Reality Competition Show		Won
	Televisual Bulldog Awards	Readers' Vote Award		Won
	TRIC Awards			Won
2013	National Reality TV Awards	Best Talent Show		Won
	Televisual Bulldog Awards	Best Entertainment Programme		Won
	TRIC Awards	Best Reality Programme		Won
2014	National Reality TV Awards	Best Talent Show		Won
2015				Nominated
2016	BAFTA TV Awards	Best Entertainment Programme		Won

See also

• Just the Two of Us (TV series) – the same format, with singing instead of dancing
• Let's Dance for Comic Relief

Further reading

• Smith, Rupert (2005) Strictly Come Dancing; dance consultant: Len Goodman. London: BBC Books ISBN 0-563-52293-3

External links

• Strictly Come Dancing at BBC Online
• Strictly Come Dancing at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com show
• Strictly Come Dancing at UKGameshows.com
• Strictly Come Dancing Biogs.com
• "Strictly Come Dancing – The results for week 4". Ballet News. 23 October 2011.