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 30 other countries (see Dancing with the Stars), and has also inspired a modern-dance themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever.

The show has run on BBC One since 15 May 2004, primarily on Saturday evenings. A seventh series began on 18 September 2009 and ended on 19 December 2009. A further six stand-alone Christmas Specials have also been produced, in consecutive years from 2004 to 2009. Since the fourth series, the show has also aired on the BBC's high definition channel, BBC HD.

The show pairs a number of celebrities with professional ballroom dancers who each week compete against each other in a competition to impress a panel of judges and the viewing public in order to survive potential elimination. Through telephone voting, viewers vote who they would like to stay, the results of the poll being combined with the ranking of the panel of judges. For example, with four contestants left, the judges' favourite would receive four points, second favourite three points, and so on, and similarly with the viewers' rankings.^[3] The profits from the telephone lines were donated to Sport Relief in series 1, and to Children in Need from series 2 to 5.

The show is broadcast live on BBC One on Saturday evenings, and it is presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. For some of the second series, Natasha Kaplinsky stood in temporarily for Tess Daly while she took maternity leave. The judging panel consists of Bruno Tonioli, Alesha Dixon, Len Goodman and Craig 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 7pm on BBC Two, and during series five, the results show moved to Sunday evenings, although it is filmed on Saturday and then broadcast "as live" each Sunday.

The singers on the show are Priscilla Jones Campbell, Hayley Sanderson, Tommy Blaize , Lance Ellington and Andrea Grant. The music director is David Arch. Lance Ellington and Tommy Blaize have been part of the Strictly since its beginning. In Series 3 Andrea Grant joined the singing team. David Arch and Priscilla Jones Campbell joined in the fourth series, and Hayley Sanderson in the fifth.

The show is broadcast from a specially constructed set at the BBC Television Centre. However, in the first two series, shows were also filmed at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool, where the original Come Dancing series was filmed in the 1970s.^[4][5]

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.^[6][7] In 2005 though the BBC announced that they would not be returning to the venue for the third series due to "logistical problems". ^[8] 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 ironically Craig Kelly (who was born in Blackpool) was eliminated. The episode aired live on 7 November 2009. ^[9]

Brendan Cole, Erin Boag and Anton Du Beke are the only three professional dancers who have taken part in the show from Series 1 to present.

Dancers are often recruited as professional pairs. Erin & Anton, Darren & Lilia, James & Ola, Vincent & Flavia are all professional pairs. Camilla used to dance with Brendan and now dances professionally with Ian. Matthew and Nicole used to be a professional pair.

• 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 performed again in the final) or a Rock N' Roll routine. The final also featured a head-to-head Lindyhop.

• A Showdance (Freestyle) has always been performed in series final as couples' last chance to impress the public.

As of series four, coaches are Jaclyn Spencer and Chris Marques (aka Cuban Groove) for Salsa and Mambo, and Jenny Thomas and Ryan Francois for Swing,Jive, Rock n Roll and The Charleston. The Argentine Tango coaches in Series three were Flavia Cacace and Vincent Simone, both of whom have subsequently competed in the show.

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

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

"The Sunday show is recorded on Saturday night but no element involving the results of the vote will start recording until after lines are closed and votes counted and verified."^[10]

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

From Series 7, the Sunday results show will be axed and put back to Saturday nights as a result of a revamp of the show.^[11]

During the run of Strictly Come Dancing, Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two airs each week night on BBC Two, hosted by Claudia Winkleman. It features reviews of the performances during the previous Saturday show, and interviews with and training footage of the couples preparing for the next show. The judges and other celebrities also provide their opinions on how the couples are doing. It Takes Two replaces Strictly Come Dancing on Three, hosted by Justin Lee Collins, which ran on BBC Three during the first series. BBC Two Scotland airs the programme on four nights only, running their own Gaelic-language programming on Thursdays instead.

15 May to 3 July 2004, in order of elimination

23 October to 11 December 2004, in order of elimination

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.^[13] Over ten and a half million viewers tuned in to the final show, and the whole series raised £1.5 million for Children in Need.^[14]

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

The show ran from 7 October to 23 December 2006. Over 12 million votes were cast, raising £1.5 million for Children in Need. A peak of 13 million viewers tuned in to the final show of series four to see Mark and Karen crowned 2006 Strictly Come Dancing champions.

The couples in order of elimination:

The fifth series of Strictly Come Dancing began on BBC One on 29 September 2007, with Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returning as presenters. For the first time, the line up of professionals was unchanged from the previous series. The first programme was a catch-up show and preview to the new series, before the start of the competition on 6 October, which ran for 12 weeks. The show featured 14 new celebrities, who were paired with 14 professional dancers. In a change to the previous format, the results show was recorded on Saturday and broadcast on Sunday, rather than shown live later on Saturday. In addition to this, the two couples who were at the bottom of the table after the viewers' vote were subject to a dance-off, where they reprised their routine, for the judges to decide who left. Head Judge Len Goodman had the casting vote in case of a tie. The series raised just over a million pounds for Children in Need ^[16]

A sixth series of the show was confirmed after the dancers' pay dispute was called off in late June 2008.^[18] The series lasted for 14 weeks, which is the longest series so far.^[18] The series involved three new professional dancers, Brian Fortuna, Hayley Holt and Kristina Rihanoff.^[19]

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.^[20]

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.^[21]

On 19 November 2008, John Sergeant announced that he would be leaving the show because he believed he may "win it".^[22]

The seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing ran from Friday 18 September until 19 December 2009^[23]. Tess Daly has signed a two year deal to continue presenting Strictly Come Dancing for at least the 2009 and 2010 series'^[24].

On 9 July, 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 replaces Arlene Phillips who is moving to The One Show as a Strictly Come Dancing expert^[23]. 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"^[25]. Bosses at the BBC have also been accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show have been replaced. Dixon's fans are also unhappy as she has had to cancel a number of dates on her autumn tour in order to do the programme.^[26]

The official line-up was revealed on 25 August 2009 and the winner was BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins^[27]:

Starting in 2004, Strictly Come Dancing has broadcast a Christmas Special each year. High placed couples from previous series return to dance one routine which is scored by the judges before the winning couple is chosen by a studio audience vote. In the 2005 Christmas Special UK contestants competed against two celebrities from the US version of the show Dancing with the Stars.

Some celebrities have returned for more than one Christmas Special. Notably, Darren Gough (with Lilia Kopylova) and Jill Halfpenny (with Darren Bennet) have both won two Christmas Specials each to add to their main Strictly series titles.

The Strictly Come Dancing Story was shown on 28 December 2007. While looking back at the last five series of Strictly Come Dancing, it also explained how it came about, showed clips of the original Come Dancing show, highlights from the series one to five, and how the show has transferred to other countries around the world.

Strictly Ice Dancing was broadcast as a one-off special on 26 December 2004; with Carol Smillie, Jessica Taylor, Scarlett Johnson, Marcus Patric, David Seaman, and Rowland Rivron paired with professional skaters. This was won by David Seaman (who was a late replacement for Paul Gascoigne) and his partner Zoia Birmingham.

In order of elimination, the competitors were:

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

A further one-off special was broadcast on BBC One on 9 July 2005 as part of the BBC's Africa Lives season. It featured six celebrities of African descent performing traditional African dances with a professional troupe. The contestants were Tunde Baiyewu, Tupele Dorgu, Robbie Earle, Antonia Okonma, Louis Emerick, and Tessa Sanderson. The programme was presented by Natasha Kaplinsky and Martin Offiah, and the winner was Robbie Earle. Professional dancers Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova, who have appeared on Strictly Come Dancing since the second series, also appeared on this special to perform a traditional African Samba.

In order of elimination:

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

Strictly Come Dancing went on tour at the beginning of 2008 for the first time.^[28] The tour was hosted by Kate Thornton, and judged by Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, & Len Goodman.^[29] Bruno Tonioli was not a judge in this competition^[28] due to him being in Los Angeles.^[30] The tour began on 18 January 2008 in Glasgow and finished on 19 February 2008 in Birmingham.^[31]

Celebrity dancers taking part were:^[32]

• Christopher Parker (dancing with Nicole Cutler)
• Denise Lewis (dancing with Matthew Cutler)
• Darren Gough (dancing with Lilia Kopylova)^[33]
• 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) ^[34]
• Zoe Ball (dancing with Ian Waite)^[33]

The results of the tour are as follows:^[35]

Denise Lewis, Christopher Parker, James Martin were not winners or runners up at any stage of the tour .^[35]

Let's Dance for Comic Relief aired in February and March 2009 in aid for Comic Relief 2009.

The Strictly Come Dancing Tour returned in January and February 2009.^[36] 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:^[37]

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 the 9th November 2009.

The Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour will take place in January and February 2010. Amanda Byram and Kate Thornton will be hosting on different nights.

The Judging Panel will consist of 6 members ;

• Craig Revel Horwood
• Len Goodman or Ian Waite
• Arlene Phillips or Darcey Bussell
• Bruno Tonioli

The following celebrities and professional dancers have confirmed that they will star in the Tour.

• Series 7 Semi Fianlist 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 dancing on the tour are;

• Ian Waite and Natalie Lowe

It was announced that

• Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace,
• Ian Waite & Natalie Lowe
• Matthew Cutler & Aliona Vilani
• James Jordan & Ola Jordan,
• Brian Fortuna & Kristina Rihanoff

These will take the road for their first own personal tour.

A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Sport Relief aired on 14 March 2008, with Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips and Len Goodman judging.^[38]

The results were as follows:

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."

A Strictly Come Dancing one-off special for Children In Need aired 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:

The dancers performed alongside Alesha Dixon singing The Boy Does Nothing at the start of the show and also someone was seen backstage and Alesha told him to go back to the studios. The presenters and judges didn't appear in this unlike last year when judges rated Terry's performance.

On 27 December 2008, a special episode of The Weakest Link aired on BBC1 featuring participants of Strictly Come Dancing. The game was won by series 6 celebrity Mark Foster, who beat professional dancer Anton Du Beke in the final. Participants in order of elimination were:

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

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).:

Please note that as of the quarter finals of series 7 there was a fifth judge; high scores will be rounded as if there were four judges.

On twelve occasions, a perfect 40 out of 40 or 50 out of 50 has been awarded inside the main series, with series six and seven being the only series to have more than one perfect forty within, including Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole who hold the record for most perfect scores with three in the series, Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone and Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna with two perfect scores though it should be noted that Ali Bastian and Brian Fortuna scored another perfect score in the 2009 Christmas special. All others only received one, usually in the semi-final or final. On another five occasions, a couple scored 40/40 on a Christmas Special. On further fourteen occasions during the main series, couples have received 39. On five occasions in the Christmas Specials, couples were awarded 39/40. There was one special case when three of the judges (Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips and Bruno Tonioli) all gave a ten but head judge Len Goodman gave an nine. It should be noted that if Darcey Bussell had not joined the judging panel in series seven Ricky Whittle and his professional dance partner Natalie Lowe would have scored 40 out of 40 for their showdance in the final.

The lowest that the judges have ever awarded was 8/40 to Quentin Wilson and Hazel Newberry for their Cha Cha Cha.

In addition to the nine perfect scores listed above, judges have awarded perfect tens on a number of other occasions. Rachel Stevens and her partner Vincent Simone hold a record for the most tens with 31 followed by Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler with 22 and Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole with 21.

The show regularly draws attention to itself through negative press. The most recent scandal to embroil the show involved professional dancer Anton du Beke, who in an off air conversation, made a joke with racial imagery to his dance partner of Moroccan descent Laila Rouass for which he has subsequently unreservedly apologised. This followed an earlier incident, when he is alleged to have asked her if she is a 'Terrorist'. Whilst both of the people involved insisted that the comments had been intended as humorous banter, the news nevertheless prompted numerous complaints filed by viewers calling for Du Beke to be removed from his position.

The decision to drop Arlene Phillips from the judging line-up for the 2009 series of Strictly Come Dancing led to much criticism being directed at the BBC for its handling of older female television personalities. Accusations resurfaced that the BBC routinely discriminates against women in television based on their age. The most notable examples of purported age discrimination in the BBC include the release of newsreader Moira Stewart in 2007 and the retirement of Anna Ford in 2006. Other high profile BBC personalities such as Selina Scott and Kate Adie have also accused the BBC of age discrimination towards women.^[40] The axing of Arlene Phillips has led to an unprecedented intervention from the government's Minister for Women and Equality, Harriet Harman. During a session in the House of Commons, Harman responded to questions stating that she believed the decision to drop Arlene Phillips was motivated by age discrimination and called on the BBC to ensure that she would be taking part in the new series. The BBC has not formally responded to this request, but has repeated its comments that the decision was not due to age.^[41] The appointment of Alesha Dixon to the judging panel prompted 5000 complaints to the BBC^[42] , and her judging debut was met with hostility amongst viewers and tabloids alike^{[citation needed]}.

In December 2008 the show hit the headlines when viewers were able to register telephone votes for a couple that effectively they could not save from the dance off irrespective of how many public votes were cast in their favour. Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup could not mathematically survive given the scoring system, however viewers were invited to call in to save their favourites at a cost of 15p per vote. The BBC did not offer a refund service. The same problem emerged later on in the series' Christmas special.

Further doubts were raised about the telephone voting system, when 2009 contestant Rav Wilding was eliminated from the competition in week 3. Despite having already been in the dance off the previous week, Rav Wilding claimed that a problem with the phone lines meant that he lost votes that could have saved him from having to compete again in the dance-off. Despite the claims, both the BBC and the telephone company strongly denied that there were any problems with the phone lines.

The show has won a highly prestigious Rose D'Or award for 'Best Variety Show', beating off competition from reality shows from twelve other different countries. It has also won two awards for 'Best Reality Show' at the TRIC Awards and two at the TV Quick Awards for 'Best Talent Show'. It has also received three BAFTA nominations.

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

• Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two - its 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.
• Dancing with the Stars - versions of the show produced in other countries.

• Strictly Come Dancing at BBC Online
• Strictly Come Dancing at IMDb
• Template:Tv.com
• Strictly Come Dancing at UKGameshows.com