Strictly Come Dancing

• 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 no longer dances competitively on the show, he still makes regular appearances on the 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.
• Anton du Beke is the only professional dancer who has taken part in every series of the show. In the fourth and fifth weeks of series 18, he was a guest judge while regular judge Motsi Mabuse was self-isolating.
• 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 Škorjanec (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.
• Vilani & Oti Mabuse are the only professionals to have won more than once. Mabuse is the only professional to have won twice in a row.
• Kevin Clifton has the most appearances in the final of any professional dancer, with five (2013–16, 2018).
• Since series 13, the show has had more professional dancers than celebrities to partner with. The following professional dancers have been without celebrity partners:

• Series 13: Joanne Clifton
• Series 14 and 15: Neil Jones and Chloe Hewitt
• Series 16: Neil Jones, Luba Mushtuk and Johannes Radebe
• Series 17: Nancy Xu, Graziano Di Prima[32] and Gorka Márquez.[33]
• Series 18: Nancy Xu, Graziano Di Prima, Neil Jones,[34] Nadiya Bychkova[35] Kai Widdrington[36] and Joshua Keefe.

• Neil Jones suffered an injury in series 17 and was unable to dance with his celebrity partner Alex Scott in weeks 6 and 7, though he continued to choreograph Scott's dances. Kevin Clifton danced with Alex while Neil was injured.

Some of the dancers form professional partnerships, dancing together competitively or on the show. Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova[37] are married, as are James and Ola Jordan,[38] while Matthew and Nicole Cutler are divorced but still professional partners.[39][40] Anton du Beke and Erin Boag[41] have danced as a professional couple since 1997; Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace are a former Argentine Tango world champion couple.[42] Brendan Cole and Katya Virshilas danced together professionally for several years before parting in November 2009.[43][44][45] Karen Hauer and Kevin Clifton were engaged when Clifton entered the show in 2013 and were married prior to the 2015 series, until their split in 2018; Janette Manrara and Aljaž Škorjanec were married in 2017. Neil and Katya Jones were also married, until their split in 2019.

On average, dances last for approximately 90 seconds.[46] The music for the dances is 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 Viennese Waltz were added in series 3.
• The Salsa and Argentine Tango were added in series 4.
• No more dances were added until series 7, in 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 danced Swing simultaneously and were voted off the dancefloor one by one by the judges until only one couple remained. This returned in series 9 and 11.
• The tenth series featured a "Dance Fusion", in which the couples attempted to perform two dances consecutively in one routine.
• The twelfth series introduced the Waltz-a-thon, which used the same manner as the Swing-a-thon: all remaining couples danced the Waltz on the dance floor at the same time. Afterwards, the results were revealed by the judges.
• The thirteenth series introduced a Quickstep-a-thon, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously danced the Quickstep. The judges then ranked them from one to seven and gave points accordingly.
• The fourteenth series saw the Cha-Cha-Challenge introduced, in which all six remaining couples simultaneously danced the Cha-Cha-Cha. The judges then ranked them from one to six and gave points accordingly.
• The fifteenth series saw the Paso Doble-thon introduced, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously performed a Paso Doble. The judges then ranked them one to seven and gave points accordingly.
• The sixteenth series saw the Lindy-Hop-athon introduced, in which all seven remaining couples simultaneously performed the Lindy Hop. The judges then ranked them from one to seven and gave points accordingly.
• The sixteenth series introduced Contemporary, Jazz, and Street/Commercial 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. From series 2 to 7, the Showdance was not scored by the judges. Since series 8, the Showdance has been performed as each couple's second dance in the final.

Prior to series 10, the dances performed in the early weeks were switched between one Ballroom and one Latin, and were divided as evenly as possible depending on the number of contestants left. As the competition progressed further, this system was abandoned and many styles, not just two, could be performed in one week by each of the remaining contestants. From series 4 to 7, the remaining contestants who made it to the semi-final were granted to perform the semi-final-exclusive Argentine Tango. Since series 10, this has all changed. The contestants are now allowed to perform any of the chosen dances in any week, though the Argentine Tango remains generally reserved for the latter stages of the competition. The Showdance, however, remains restricted only for the final.

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 1 to 4, the results show was shown live on Saturday night one hour after the performances.

As of series 5, 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.[47]

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 the outfits of Tess Daly, Claudia Winkleman and the judges 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.[48] It then reverted back to Sundays from series 8.

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

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 Zoe Ball took over from Series 9.[49]

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 progressing. 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 its own Gaelic-language programming on Thursdays instead.

In Spring 2004, Strictly Come Dancing commenced its first series. The professional dancers were Brendan Cole, Hanna Karttunen, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, John Byrnes, Paul Killick, Camilla Dallerup and Kylie Jones. This was the only series to air in the Spring/Summer (as of series 2, the programme airs from September/October to December each year). Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole were crowned the first winners. At 8 weeks, this was the shortest series.

In Autumn 2004, the second series commenced. Five of the eight original professionals returned: these were Brendan Cole, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, Paul Killick and Camilla Dallerup. There were also five new professionals: Darren Bennett, Ian Waite, Lilia Kopylova, Nicole Cutler and Hazel Newberry. This was the only series Newberry participated in, while the other professionals competed in the 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.

In 2005, the third series commenced. Brendan Cole, Anton Du Beke, Erin Boag, Camilla Dallerup, Darren Bennett, Ian Waite and Lilia Kopylova returned from the second series. Nicole Cutler, Paul Killick and Hazel Newberry did not return. They were replaced by Karen Hardy, Hanna Haarala, Izabela Hannah, Andrew Cuerden and Matthew Cutler.

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

The fourth series ran from 7 October to 23 December 2006. More than 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 Ramprakash and Karen Hardy 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 programme. 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:

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 lineup of professionals was unchanged from the previous series. The first programme was a catch-up show and preview of 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 public vote were subject to a dance-off, where they reprised their routine for the judges to decide who should leave the competition. Head Judge Len Goodman had the casting vote in the event of a tie. The series raised just over one million pounds for Children in Need.[50]

A sixth series of the programme was confirmed after the dancers' pay dispute was called off in late June 2008.[52] This series was the longest to date, lasting for 14 weeks.[52] The series introduced three new professional dancers, Brian Fortuna, Hayley Holt and Kristina Rihanoff.[53] Nicole Cutler did not return to the show.

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.[54]

On 19 November 2008, John Sergeant announced that he would be leaving the show because he believed he may "win it".[55]

The seventh series of Strictly Come Dancing ran from 18 September until 19 December 2009.[56] Tess Daly signed a two-year deal to continue presenting the programme for at least the 2009 and 2010 series.[57]

On 9 July 2009, it was confirmed that former competitor Alesha Dixon would be joining the judging panel 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.[56] The BBC was accused of sexism, as none of the male judges on the show had been replaced, and 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 appear on the programme.[58]

The official lineup was revealed on 25 August 2009 and the winner was BBC Breakfast presenter Chris Hollins:[59]

The eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing began with a launch show on 11 September 2010; three weeks later, the live shows started on 1 October 2010.[60] Three new professional dancers were announced: Artem Chigvinstev, Jared Murillo and Robin Windsor.[61] Darren Bennett, Lilia Kopylova, Brian Fortuna and Matthew Cutler did not return. The celebrities were revealed on 8 September 2010[62] and their professional partners were revealed during the launch show.[63][64]

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 lineup 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.[65] The celebrity lineup was announced on 6 September 2011 on The One Show and the couples were paired up for the first time on the launch show.

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.[66]

Katya Virshilas was the only professional dancer not returning this series, and she was replaced by Burn the Floor's Karen Hauer.[67] The full lineup was revealed on 10 September during The One Show.[68]

Aliona Vilani was originally Johnny Ball's partner, but injury resulted in her being replaced by Iveta Lukosiute.[69]

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its eleventh series with a launch show on 7 September 2013 and the live shows on 27 September 2013.[70] Rod Stewart and Jessie J performed on the premiere show.[71]

On 1 June 2013, it was announced that Aliona Vilani, Vincent Simone, Flavia Cacace and Erin Boag would all leave the programme. Aljaž Škorjanec, Emma Slater, Janette Manrara and Iveta Lukosiute, who partnered Johnny Ball in the first few weeks of series 10, would all join the cast.[72][73][74] However, it was confirmed on 22 August 2013 that Anya Garnis and Kevin Clifton had joined the series, replacing Slater.[75] On 2 September 2013, it was announced that a foot fracture injury meant that Natalie Lowe would not be able to participate that series, and she was replaced by returning professional Vilani.[76]

The series started on 7 September 2014 with a launch show,[77] followed by the live shows starting on 26 and 27 September.[78] 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.[79] It was announced on 9 May that Claudia Winkleman would join the main show as co-presenter and that her 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.[80]

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.[81] It was then announced in August that Robin Windsor had pulled out of the competition due to a back injury. Windsor was replaced by new professional Trent Whiddon.[82] In week three, entertainer Donny Osmond joined the four regular judges, making the maximum score that week 50 points.[83] Due to Winkleman's absence in weeks 6, 7 and 8, It Takes Two presenter Zoë Ball co-presented with Daly.

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its 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.[84]

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.[85]

Series 13 was the last to feature Tristan MacManus, Kristina Rihanoff, Ola Jordan, Gleb Savchenko and Aliona Vilani as professional dancers. Jordan later announced that she had quit the show, claiming that the results were "fixed". Vilani announced three days after winning that she was leaving the show; however, she participated in the 2016 live tour. Savchenko announced that he was leaving the show on 28 June 2016.[86]

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 the previous series' champion and two-time professional winner of the show Aliona Vilani, former professional winner Ola Jordan and two-time professional finalist Kristina Rihanoff, as well as Gleb Savchenko and Tristan MacManus. Joanne Clifton returned 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.[87] On 26 July 2016, three more new professional dancers — AJ Pritchard, Chloe Hewitt and Neil Jones, husband of new dancer Katya — were announced.[88] Hewitt and 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.

On 4 May 2017, it was announced that series 7 finalist Natalie Lowe would be departing the show. Five days later, on 9 May, Shirley Ballas announced that she would be replacing Len Goodman as head judge.[89] On 21 June 2017, Oksana Platero and the previous series' professional champion, Joanne Clifton, announced that they would also be leaving. The new professionals replacing them were 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 was the first celebrity known to be taking part in the series. This was the first series to be broadcast since Sir Bruce Forsyth's death in August that year.

In a change to the format of the previous five years, there was no elimination in the final, meaning there were three runner-up couples this series.

On 30 January 2018, it was announced that Brendan Cole would no longer appear on the show.[90] On 30 May 2018, the full lineup of 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 most in the show's history.[91]

On 13 February 2019, professional dancer Pasha Kovalev announced that he was leaving the show after competing on it for eight years.[92] On 10 April 2019, it was announced that judge Darcey Bussell had left the show after seven years.[93] On 22 July 2019, Motsi Mabuse was announced as the replacement for Bussell. On 30 July 2019, it was announced that Nancy Xu would be joining the cast of professional dancers.[94] On 5 September 2019, it was announced that Jamie Laing had withdrawn from the show due to a foot injury. He was later replaced by Kelvin Fletcher. In late October, Will Bayley left the competition due to a sustained leg injury.[95]

On 6 March 2020, Kevin Clifton announced that he was leaving the show after seven years.[96] On 26 March 2020, AJ Pritchard also announced that he was leaving the show after four years.[97] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was confirmed that the series would be slightly shorter than planned.[98][99][100] Before the series began, the professional dancers, and some crew, isolated and tested for COVID-19 to then become a household. Strictly took over a hotel near the studios and the pro dancers learnt and filmed all the group routines for the series.[101] This allowed for the show to still include the professional dances each week. On 21 August 2020, it was announced that Bruno Tonioli would not be on the judging panel but would appear virtually while he filmed Dancing with the Stars in the US. It was the first series since 2012 to begin in October.[102] On 12 November 2020, Nicola Adams and Katya Jones were forced to withdraw from the competition after Jones tested positive for COVID-19.[103] On 19 December 2020, Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse were crowned the winners of the series, meaning Oti becomes the second professional dancer to win the show twice, and the first to win it consecutively, following her 2019 victory.

Since the inception of Strictly Come Dancing in 2004, several special editions of the show have been transmitted by the BBC each year. These have included seasonal specials, charity specials, and variations of the Strictly Come Dancing format.

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

Note: Series 18 was scored out of 30 so scores have been altered to be out of the usual 40.

Female

Male

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

Note: Series 18 was scored out of 30 so scores have been altered to be out of the usual 40.

Female

Male

On seventy-two occasions, a perfect 40 out of 40 has been awarded inside the main series (including three perfect 50 out of 50s and six perfect 30 out of 30s in Series 7 and Series 18 respectively). Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev hold the record for most perfect scores with five forties. Kovalev also holds the record for most perfect scores by a professional dancer with thirteen forties. On another fourteen occasions, a couple scored 40/40 on a Christmas Special. The Rumba and Contemporary are the only dance styles not to have received a perfect score.

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

By Celebrity:

By Professional:

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), Fiona Phillips and Brendan Cole for their Rumba (1,2,6,4), 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), Scott Mills and Joanne Clifton for their Samba with Donny Osmond (2,5,7,5,6) and Ann Widdecombe and Anton du Beke for their American Smooth in the 2018 Christmas Special (2,6,7,7). The biggest margin between two total scores in one week is 27. This was in week 3 of the seventeenth series, when Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse scored 38, and Anneka Rice and Kevin Clifton scored 11.

Alexandra Burke and her partner Gorka Márquez and Ashley Roberts and her partner Pasha Kovalev hold the record of most tens with 32, then that is followed by Faye Tozer and Giovanni Pernice with 31, then Karim Zeroual and Amy Dowden with 29, then 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 as well as Kelvin Fletcher 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 Škorjanec and Debbie McGee and Giovanni Pernice 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.[105] Of these celebrities, Snowdon and Cole, Flack and Kovalev, Tozer and Pernice and Roberts 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, and Roberts and Kovalev are the only pairs 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 and American Smooth in the semi-final shows respectively, and the longest consecutive streak of tens, that adds to a total of 16.

Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev also have the best average score from the judges out of all contestants on every series being 36.94/40 for their dances. Natalie Gumede and Artem Chigvintsev, and Danny Mac and his partner Oti Mabuse, follow, with averages of 36.88 and 36.62 respectively. Quentin Willson, Susannah Constantine and James Cracknell hold averages of 8.0 and 12.0, the lowest of any celebrities so far.

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. Seasons having a maximum of 30 points (18) have been converted to a 40-point base. Contemporary and Rumba are the only dances that have not received the full mark of 40, with 39/40 being the highest score for each. Runner-up of Series 16 Ashley Roberts holds the record for receiving the most perfect scores as a celebrity with five. With thirteen perfect scores, Pasha Kovalev holds the record for most perfect scores by a professional dancer.

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.[106]

Comedian Bill Bailey, who was 55 when he competed in 2020, is the oldest series winner and gymnast Louis Smith, who was 23 when he competed in 2012, is the youngest series winner. At 19, Maisie Smith is the youngest contestant to make it to the finale, while Dr. Pamela Stephenson is the oldest, at the age of 61.

Series 8 quarter-finalist Ann Widdecombe holds the record for the most lowest scores, with a highest score of 21/40 and lowest score of 12/40. She also holds the record for the most individual scores of 1, with three for her Salsa, Samba and Rumba, earning them all from judge Craig Revel-Horwood. 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 16 runner-up Ashley Roberts holds the highest average score with 36.94/40.0 and holds the record for the most perfect scores with five 40s. Series 13 contestant Jamelia holds the record for being in the most dance-offs, which is 5, while Jamelia and series 18 contestant Jamie Laing hold the record for surviving the most dance offs, which is 4. Series 11 contestant Mark Benton and Series 17 contestant Mike Bushell share the record for being in the most consecutive dance-offs, which is 4. Series 18 contestant HRVY holds the record for the earliest ever perfect score in the competition which was in week 6, for his Street.

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 remain in the competition. 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.[107]

The BBC received 1800 complaints about the incident,[108] while media regulator Ofcom received 297.[107] 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 its 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".[109] The BBC also stated that, following the mistake, "the voting and judging mechanisms used in all BBC voting programmes [had] been thoroughly examined".[107]

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".[107]

In June 2009, 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 be replaced by series five winner Alesha Dixon, then aged 30.[110] This was later confirmed by the BBC in July of that year.[111] Subsequently, the BBC was accused of ageism and sexism by several sources,[111][112] an accusation the corporation has faced before over the removal of several older female presenters, including Moira Stuart,[113] Juliet Morris,[114] Miriam O'Reilly,[114][113] Michaela Strachan,[114] Charlotte Smith[114] and Anna Ford.[115] The BBC denied the allegations that the decision to remove Phillips was due to her age.[111]

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.[116] Dixon was compared unfavourably to Phillips, with claims that the former was "unsuitable", "unqualified" and lacked "knowledge, experience and talent".[116] However, Dixon was praised and defended from her critics by the BBC,[116] by fellow judge Craig Revel Horwood[116] and by Phillips herself.[117]

In 2009, during the seventh series, professional dancer Anton du Beke issued a public apology[118] for his use of a racial slur during a conversation with his dance partner Laila Rouass.[119] 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".[119] 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.[120]

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.[120]

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.[120]

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.[121] The BBC denied that de Mooi had ever been under consideration for the show,[122] and also declared that "Strictly is a family show and we have chosen the traditional format of mixed-sex couples".[121] The press has reported on the issue on numerous occasions when gay celebrities have appeared on the show, including Will Young,[123] Susan Calman,[124] Robert Rinder,[125] Richard Coles[126] and Ranj Singh.[127] Strictly Come Dancing judges Shirley Ballas[127] and Craig Revel Horwood[128] have both expressed their support for introducing same-sex couples.

Same-sex partnerships have been featured on several international versions of the show, including Austria (2011), Italy (2015) and Australia (2019).[129][130][131] On 3 November 2019, Johannes Radebe and fellow professional Graziano Di Prima performed together to Emeli Sande's "Shine" on the Sunday results episode, the show's first individual same-sex dance.[132] On 2 September 2020, it was announced that boxer Nicola Adams would feature in the show's first same-sex couple for its eighteenth series.[133] She was partnered with professional dancer Katya Jones.

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.[134][135] 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.[135]