Strictly Come Dancing

For the most recent series, see Strictly Come Dancing (series 11). For the South African series, see Strictly Come Dancing (South African TV series). For international versions, see Dancing with the Stars.

Strictly Come Dancing
File:Strictly Come Dancing title card.png
Created by	Fenia Vardanis Richard Hopkins
Developed by	BBC
Presented by	Sir Bruce Forsyth Tess Daly Claudia Winkleman (2010–)
Judges	Len Goodman Craig Revel Horwood Bruno Tonioli Arlene Phillips (2004–08) Alesha Dixon (2009–11) Darcey Bussell (2012–)
Narrated by	Alan Dedicoat
Opening theme	Dan McGrath Josh Phillips
Country of origin	United Kingdom
No. of series	11 (Main) 10 (Christmas)
No. of episodes	242 (as of 21 December 2013)
Production
Production locations	Wembley Arena (2011–) Elstree Studios (2013–) Blackpool Tower (2004, 2009–11, 2013–) BBC Television Centre (2004–12)
Camera setup	Multi-camera
Running time	30–105 minutes
Original release
Network	BBC One BBC One HD (2010–) BBC HD (2006–10)
Release	15 May 2004 (2004-05-15) – present
Related
Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two

Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom. The format has been exported to over 40 other countries (see Dancing with the Stars), and has also inspired a modern-dance themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever.

The show has run on BBC One since 15 May 2004, primarily on Saturday evenings with a following Sunday night results show (with certain exceptions). The eleventh series ended on 21 December 2013 and a further ten stand-alone Christmas specials have also been produced, in consecutive years from 2004 to 2013. 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.

As of 2013, the current champions are Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Skorjanec, and the current Christmas special champions are Rufus Hound and Flavia Cacace.

Format

The show pairs a number of celebrities with professional ballroom dancers who each week compete against each other to impress a panel of judges and the viewing public in order to survive potential elimination. Through telephone voting, viewers vote for whom they would like to stay, the results of the poll being combined with the ranking of the panel of judges. For example, with four contestants left, the judges' favourite would receive four points, second favourite three points, and so on, and similarly with the viewers' rankings. 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 presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. For some of the second series, Natasha Kaplinsky stood in temporarily for Tess Daly while she took maternity leave. The judging panel initially consisted of Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood. Alesha Dixon took Phillips' place from series 7 to 9, after which she left the programme to judge Britain's Got Talent which led retired ballerina Darcey Bussell replace Dixon and remains a judge alongside Tonioli, Goodman and Revel Horwood. Goodman and Tonioli commute weekly between Hollywood and London to judge both the American and British versions of the show simultaneously. Each judge gives the performance a mark out of ten, giving an overall total out of forty. The voice-over announcer is Alan Dedicoat. During series four, an hour-long highlight show was shown on Sundays at 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 formally 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. In Series 2 Tara McDonald joined the team and left after series 4 to sign her solo album to Mercury/Universal records. In Series 3, Lance Ellington and Andrea Grant joined the singing team. David Arch joined in the fourth series and Hayley Sanderson in the fifth. J Marie Cooper who went on to audition for the first series of The Voice UK, replaced by Andrea Grant for 2 weeks in the 2011 series and when Lance Ellington isn't available Chris Madin has replaced him. Madin has featured on a few episodes in the 2010 series and has been involved in the 2011 and 2012 Finals.

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 didn't go to Blackpool, they announced that they would return for series 11.

Presenters

Key:

  Presenter of Strictly Come Dancing

  Presenter of It Takes Two

Presenter	Series 1	Series 2	Series 3	Series 4	Series 5	Series 6	Series 7	Series 8	Series 9	Series 10	Series 11
Sir Bruce Forsyth+
Tess Daly*
Claudia Winkleman^
Zoë Ball

Notes
+ From series eight onwards, Sir Bruce Forsyth only hosts the main show.
* Tess Daly only appeared from week six onwards during series two due to maternity leave. Natasha Kaplinsky served as a temporary replacement for the first five weeks
^ From series eight onwards, Claudia Winkleman has presented the results show of the main Strictly Come Dancing alongside Daly and occasionally the main show replacing Forsyth. She also presented It Takes Two alongside the results show for series eight

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

Live Tour

Year(s)	Presenter
2014	Lisa Riley
2008–10, 2012–13	Kate Thornton
2010	Amanda Byram
2011	Zoë Ball

Judging panel

Key:

  Judging panel

  Guest judge(s)

Judge	Series 1	Series 2	Series 3	Series 4	Series 5	Series 6	Series 7	Series 8	Series 9	Series 10	Series 11
Len Goodman+
Craig Revel Horwood
Bruno Tonioli
Darcey Bussell*
Arlene Phillips
Alesha Dixon
Jennifer Grey^

+ Goodman is the Head Judge, however in week six of series nine when he was away Revel Horwood served as temporary head judge
* Bussell served as a Guest Judge throughout weeks twelve to fourteen for series seven
^ Grey served as a Guest Judge for week six during series nine as a cover judge for Len Goodman

Professional dancers and their partners

Key:

  Winner of the season

  Runner-up of the season

  Third place of the season

  First elimination, or joint first elimination of the season

  Withdrew in the season

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.

Brendan Cole and Anton du Beke are the only two professional dancers who have taken part in all ten series of the show. Anton has never won the competition; Brendan won the first series with Natasha Kaplinsky.

Only four professionals have managed to win the title 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).

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.

Professional pairs

As of September 2013, the professional pairs are:

Male	Female
Brendan Cole	Aliona Vilani
Pasha Kovalev	Anya Garnis
Robin Windsor	Kristina Rihanoff
Anton du Beke	Iveta Lukosiute
James Jordan	Ola Jordan
Aljaž Skorjanec	Janette Manrara
Kevin Clifton	Karen Hauer

Many 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 professional couples 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, Janette Manrara and Aljaž Skorjanec are also a couple.

In 2013, due to injury, Natalie Lowe had to withdraw, meaning Aliona Vilani dances in her replacement with Brendan Cole. Due to the odd number of couples, there will always be an extra male professional, therefore Chigvintsev dances with different female professionals.

Dances

• The Waltz, Cha Cha Cha, Quickstep, Rumba, Tango, Jive, Foxtrot, Paso Doble and Samba have all been danced since Series 1.
• The American Smooth, the Salsa and the Viennese Waltz were added in Series 3.
• The Argentine Tango was 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.
• 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.
• A Showdance (Freestyle) has always been performed in the series final as a last chance for couples to impress the public.

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.

Dance Off

In Series 5, a new system was introduced called the Dance Off. The Dance Off is performed by the two couples with the lowest scores following the judges' scores and public vote. After performing their dance again, the judges are asked one-by-one who they would like to save, and the couple with more votes remains in the competition. If there is a tie, head judge Len Goodman has the deciding vote.

The results show is recorded on the Saturday night directly after the live show and incorporates the result of the viewers' votes which are completed by 21:30. This was confirmed by the official BBC website in 2008:

The Sunday show is recorded on Saturday night but no element involving the results of the vote will start recording until after lines are closed and votes counted and verified.

Throughout the Sunday results show the presenters refer to 'last night' in reference to the main show, due to the timing of the Sunday programme, and Tess Daly's dress is changed to present an illusion of a second live broadcast.

For Series 7, the Sunday results show was axed and put back to Saturday nights as a result of a revamp of the show.

From Series 8, the dance off was axed with the public having 50% of the decision of who is to be eliminated, the other 50% coming from the judge's scores. The result show is shown on Sunday evenings.

In Series 10, the dance off was reintroduced and has continued since.

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 has 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. BBC Two Scotland airs 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	Honour places
					Winner	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	8	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	14	12	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	16	14	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	14	12	Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani	Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff
10	5 October 2012	22 December 2012	14	12	Louis Smith & Flavia Cacace	Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev Denise Van Outen & James Jordan	—
11	27 September 2013	21 December 2013	15	13	Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec	Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev Susanna Reid & Kevin Clifton	—

Series 1 (2004)

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing (series 1)

15 May to 3 July 2004, in order of elimination. Eight professional dancers – Erin Boag, John Byrnes, Brendan Cole, Camilla Dallerup, Anton du Beke, Kylie Jones, Hanna Karttunen and Paul Killick – were introduced in this series.

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)

23 October to 11 December 2004, in order of elimination. This series introduced five new professional dancers – Darren Bennett, Nicole Cutler, Lilia Kopylova, Hazel Newberry and Ian Waite. John Byrnes, Kylie Jones and Hanna Karttunen did not return to the series. Also, Hazel Newberry never returned to the show. This series also received the lowest ever score in Strictly Come Dancing history.

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)

This series ran from 15 October to 17 December 2005. Over five million votes were cast, approximately three million of which were for the eventual champions, Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova. Over ten and a half million viewers tuned into the final show, and the whole series raised £1.5 million for Children in Need.

In this series, five new professional dancers were introduced into the series – Andrew Cuerden, Matthew Cutler, Hanna Haarala, Izabela Hannah and Karen Hardy. Nicole Cutler, Paul Killick and Hazel Newberry did not return.

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 for health reasons
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". Bosses at the BBC have also been accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show had been replaced. But as well as that, the BBC received over 5,000 complaints along with the Deputy Prime Minister (at the time) who accused the BBC of agism. Dixon's fans were also unhappy as she had to cancel a number of dates on her autumn tour in order to do the programme.

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 due to injury
Ricky Groves	Erin Boag	Week 10
Natalie Cassidy	Vincent Simone	Week 11
Laila Rouass	Anton du Beke	Week 12
Ali Bastian	Brian Fortuna	Third place
Ricky Whittle	Natalie Lowe	Runners-up
Chris Hollins	Ola Jordan	Series winners

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 have been 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. Claudia Winkleman had to pull out of the 2011 series as it would be difficult to do a daily programme so soon after giving birth. Zoë Ball was chosen to replace her.

All of series eight's judges returned to 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 Lukošiūtė.

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	Runners-up
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 & 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 would join 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 has been replaced by returning professional Aliona 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	Runners up
Abbey Clancy	Aljaž Skorjanec	Series winners

Specials

Christmas specials

Main article: Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Specials

The Christmas specials have been broadcast each year since 2004.

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

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 Strictly Come Dancing 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.

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 didn't 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.

Newreader	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.

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:

• Christopher Parker (dancing with Nicole Cutler)
• Denise Lewis (dancing with Matthew Cutler)
• Darren Gough (dancing with Lilia Kopylova)
• James Martin (dancing with Camilla Dallerup)
• Letitia Dean (dancing with Darren Bennett)
• Louisa Lytton (dancing with Vincent Simone)
• Matt Di Angelo (dancing with Flavia Cacace)
• Zoë Ball (dancing with Ian Waite)

The results of the tour are as follows:

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places
Matt Di Angelo and Flavia Cacace	5	16	10
Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone	4	10	3
Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova	3	8	10
Zoë Ball and Ian Waite	3	5	14
Letitia Dean and Darren Bennett	5	1	2

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.

The couples and results of the tour were as follows:

Couple	Series	Number of wins	Number of 2nd places
Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone	6	26	14
Gethin Jones and Flavia Cacace	5	6	6
Kenny Logan and Ola Jordan	5	6	0
Julian Clary and Lilia Kopylova	2	3	13
Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett	2	3	9
Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup	6	1	2
Cherie Lunghi and James Jordan	6	0	1
Jodie Kidd and Ian Waite	6	0	0

Gethin Jones and Julian Clary were paired with new professional partners – Jones' partner Camilla Dallerup danced with her series six celebrity Tom Chambers, whilst Clary's partner (Erin Boag) did not take part in the tour, as she and her professional partner Anton du Beke were on their own Cheek To Cheek tour of the UK.

Strictly Come Dancing professionals Matthew Cutler and Kristina Rihanoff also performed a routine together.

The DVD was released on 9 November 2009.

The 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
Austin Healey and Lilia Kopylova	6	23
Mark Ramprakash and Kristina Rihanoff	4	20
Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna	7	2

Strictly Come Dancing – The Professionals Tour 2010

Ten 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
• Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe
• Matthew Cutler and Aliona Vilani
• James Jordan and Ola Jordan
• Brian Fortuna and Kristina Rihanoff

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

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
• Newcastle 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
Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani	9	30	11
Robbie Savage and Katya Virshilas	9	6	1
Chelsee Healey and Pasha Kovalev	9	3	15
Jason Donovan and Kristina Rihanoff	9	2	13
Anita Dobson and Robin Windsor	9	0	1
Mark Foster and Natalie Lowe	6	0	0
Nancy Dell'Olio and Artem Chigvintsev	9	0	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 runner-up 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.

The Live Tour! 2014

The Strictly Come Dancing 2014 UK Tour will begin on 17 January 2014 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham and end at The O2 Arena on 7 February. The tour will be hosted by former contestant Lisa Riley, with Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Len Goodman returning as judges.

The following celebrities and professionals have been confirmed to take 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 Skorjanec
• Series 11 contestant Deborah Meaden and Robin Windsor
• Series 10 contestant Nicky Byrne and Karen Hauer

Natalie Lowe will also feature on the tour, but will not partner a celebrity.

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

Statistics

Judges' scores

On twenty-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). Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole, Pamela Stephenson and James Jordan, Kimberley Walsh and Pasha Kovalev, and Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev hold the record for most perfect scores with three perfect forties. On another five occasions, a couple scored 40/40 on a Christmas Special. The Samba and Rumba are the only two dance styles not to have received the perfect score.

The lowest that the judges have ever awarded was 8/40 (1,1,3,3) to Quentin Willson and Hazel Newberry for their Cha Cha Cha. Nine individual ones have been awarded in the entirety of Strictly Come Dancing, with eight 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 off Craig 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), Scott Maslen and Natalie Lowe for their Rumba (4,9,7,8), and, most recently, Mark Benton and Iveta Lukosiute for their Cha Cha Cha (3,8,8,7).

Ricky Whittle and his partner Natalie Lowe hold the record for the most tens with 28. However, if the four tens given by Darcey Bussell during her tenure as a fifth judge are removed, he is behind 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 with 24, Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler, and 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.

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. Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler, and Ricky Whittle and his partner Natalie Lowe follow, with averages of 36.5 and 35.9 respectively. Quentin Willson, Diarmuid Gavin and Nicholas Owen hold the lowest average scores.

Highest and lowest scoring performances

The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks (out of 40) are as follows (not including scores earned on Christmas specials).

For a more accurate comparison Darcey Bussell's scores have been subtracted from the totals of the Series 7 quarter-finalists where relevant; specifically Ali Bastian's American Smooth, Chris Hollins' Charleston and both Ricky Whittle's Quickstep. Bussell scored all of them a ten. Whittle's Showdance has not been omitted as it did not receive the perfect score from Bussell, and therefore cannot be considered the same standard.

Dance	Couple	Highest score	Couple	Lowest score
American Smooth (Series 3–present)	Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev	40	Ann Widdecombe & Anton du Beke	14
Argentine Tango (Series 4–present)	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani	40	Colin Salmon & Kristina Rihanoff Michael Vaughan & Natalie Lowe	26
Cha Cha Cha	Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole	40	Quentin Willson & Hazel Newberry	8
Charleston (Series 7–present)	Chris Hollins & Ola Jordan Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev Denise van Outen & James Jordan	40	Tony Jacklin & Aliona Vilani	13
Foxtrot	Rachel Stevens & Vincent Simone Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole	40	Richard Arnold & Erin Boag	17
Jive	Jill Halfpenny & Darren Bennett	40	Michael Vaughan & Natalie Lowe	15
Paso Doble	Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev	40	Christopher Parker & Hanna Karttunen Dennis Taylor & Izabela Hannah	15
Quickstep	Lisa Snowdon & Brendan Cole Ricky Whittle & Natalie Lowe Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan Harry Judd & Aliona Vilani	40	Diarmuid Gavin & Nicole Cutler	12
Rumba	Rachel Stevens & Vincent Simone Kara Tointon & Artem Chigvintsev Chelsee Healey & Pasha Kovalev	39	Fiona Phillips & Brendan Cole	13
Salsa (Series 4–present)	Mark Ramprakash & Karen Hardy Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev	40	Ann Widdecombe & Anton du Beke	12
Samba	Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec	39	Ann Widdecombe & Anton du Beke	13
Showdance (Series 1, 7–present)	Jason Donovan & Kristina Rihanoff Denise van Outen & James Jordan Louis Smith & Flavia Cacace Natalie Gumede & Artem Chigvintsev	40	Christopher Parker & Hanna Karttunen	22
Tango	Kimberley Walsh & Pasha Kovalev	40	Diarmuid Gavin & Nicole Cutler	14
Viennese Waltz (Series 3–present)	Ali Bastian & Brian Fortuna Pamela Stephenson & James Jordan	40	Will Thorp & Hanna Haarala Jo Wood & Brendan Cole	23
Waltz	Matt Di Angelo & Flavia Cacace Abbey Clancy & Aljaž Skorjanec	40	Fiona Phillips & Brendan Cole	11

Please note that in addition to Bussell's scores as a guest judge being subtracted, the Lindyhop, Dance Fusion and Rock 'n' Roll have been removed as they were only danced in one series. The Swing Marathon from the series 8 semi-final and week 9 of series 9 is also not included as it was not scored on the usual scale.

Oldest and youngest contestants and series winners

TV presenter Johnny Ball, who was 74 when he competed in 2012, is the oldest contestant; he was two years older than magician Paul Daniels, who was 72 when he competed in 2010. Actress Louisa Lytton, who was 17 when she competed in 2006, remains the youngest contestant. TV presenter Chris Hollins, who was 38 when he competed in 2009, is the oldest series winner and gymnast Louis Smith, who was 23 when he competed in 2012, is the youngest series winner.

Controversies

Phone voting

In December 2008, the show hit the headlines when viewers were able to register telephone votes for a couple that effectively they could not save from the dance off irrespective of how many public votes were cast in their favour. Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup had finished bottom of the leaderboard, whilst the two other couples were tied above them; this meant they could not mathematically survive given the scoring system, however viewers were invited to call in to save their favourites at a cost of 15p per vote. This resulted in the elimination for that week being cancelled and all the votes being carried over to the final.

Arlene Phillips / Alesha Dixon

The decision to drop Arlene Phillips from the judging line-up for the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing led to much criticism being directed at the BBC by various UK newspapers, notably The Sun, running the axe as a headline story for its handling of older female television personalities. Accusations resurfaced that the BBC routinely discriminates against women in television based on their age. The most notable examples of purported age discrimination in the BBC include the release of newsreader Moira Stuart in 2007 and the retirement of Anna Ford in 2006. Other high-profile BBC personalities such as Selina Scott and Kate Adie accused the BBC of age discrimination towards women.

The axing of Phillips led to an unprecedented intervention from the government's Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman. During a session in the House of Commons, Harman responded to questions stating that she believed the decision to drop Phillips was motivated by age discrimination and called on the BBC to ensure that she would be taking part in the new series. The BBC has not formally responded to this request, but has repeated its comments that the decision was not due to age. The appointment of Alesha Dixon to the judging panel prompted 5,000 complaints to the BBC, and her judging debut was met with hostility among viewers and tabloids alike but she was subsequently believed by some to be a successful judge, giving both praise and constructive criticism. Dixon was lured away from the show after Series 9 by ITV to join the judging panel of Britain's Got Talent, Phillips was a popular media choice to replace her but the role instead went to occasional guest judge Darcey Bussell.

Race row

In 2009, a scandal embroiled the show involving professional dancer Anton du Beke, who in an off air conversation commented "Oh my God, you look like a Paki." to his dance partner of Moroccan descent Laila Rouass for which he has subsequently unreservedly apologised. Whilst both of the people involved insisted that the comments had been intended as humorous banter, the news nevertheless prompted numerous complaints filed by viewers calling for du Beke to be removed from his position.

Ratings

All numbers 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	TBA
3	15 October 2005	7.23	17 December 2005	10.55	TBA
4	7 October 2006	9.23	23 December 2006	12.11	TBA
5	6 October 2007	7.68	22 December 2007	12.09	TBA
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	11.07
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

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 three BAFTA Award nominations.

The show won the award of 'Most Popular Talent Show' at the National Television Awards in 2008 and 2013.

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.

See also

• Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two – companion show on BBC Two
• Strictly Dance Fever
• Dancing on Ice – a similar show on ITV, swapping dancing with skating
• Just the Two of Us – the same format, with singing instead of dancing
• Let's Dance for Comic/Sport Relief
• Dancing with the Stars – versions of the show produced in other countries

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
• Template:Ballet News