Erin Boag (born 17 March 1975) is a professional

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world, mostly because of its performance and entertainment aspects. Ballroom dancing is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television. ...

r. She has danced from the age of three, originally starting

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and later moving into

ballroom A ballroom or ballhall is a large room inside a building, the primary purpose of which is holding large formal parties called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions and palaces, especially historic man ...

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. Born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand, she moved to Australia as a teenager to progress her dancing career, before moving to London in 1996. She started professionally dancing and is well known for being on ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...

'' in the UK with her partner

Anton du Beke Anthony Paul Beke (born 20 July 1966), known professionally as Anton Du Beke (), is a British ballroom and Latin dancer, and television presenter, best known for being a professional dancer and later a judge on the BBC One celebrity dancing s ...

. Boag is an honorary patron of the theatre charity

The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America The Music Hall Guild of Great Britain and America and the Theatre and Film Guild of Great Britain and America is a registered theatre charity and non-profit making theatre organisation based in London. The Guild's patrons include Brian Crouche ...

Professional career

Boag's regular professional partner is

. They met in 1997, and won the 1998 and 1999 New Zealand Championships. They turned professional in 2002, competing mainly in the United Kingdom. Their best result on the competition circuit was in November 2003 when they won the IDTA Classic in Brighton. They appeared on the first 10 series of ''

''. Boag has not appeared as a professional on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' since Series 10, although du Beke still appears on the show. She made a brief cameo in 2015, giving advice to contestant

Katie Derham Catherine Beatrice Margaret Derham (born 18 June 1970) is a British newscaster and a presenter on television and radio. Early life and education Derham was born on 18 June 1970 in Canterbury, Kent to Margaret, a teacher, and John Derham, a chem ...

, who was partnered with du Beke that year.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Highest- and lowest-scoring performances per dance

From 2004 to 2012, Boag competed as one of the professional partners in ten series and six Christmas specials of the BBC celebrity ballroom competition show, ''

''. In the show's first series, Boag was partnered up with former England rugby league player,

Martin Offiah Martin Nwokocha Offiah MBE ( (''original pronunciation''), (''commonly used'')); born 29 December 1965) is an English former professional rugby league and rugby union footballer who played in the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. Offiah was inducted ...

. They were eliminated in week six of the competition, finishing in fourth place. In the show's second series, Boag was partnered up with comedian,

Julian Clary Julian Peter McDonald Clary (born 25 May 1959) is an English actor, comedian, novelist and presenter. He began appearing on television in the mid-1980s. Since then he has also acted in films, television and stage productions, numerous pantomim ...

. They reached the finals of the competition, but were eliminated in third place. In the show's third series, Boag was partnered up with former Olympic athlete,

Colin Jackson Colin Ray Jackson, (born 18 February 1967) is a Welsh former sprint and hurdling athlete who specialised in the 110 metres hurdles. During a career in which he represented Great Britain and Wales, he won an Olympic silver medal, became w ...

. They also reached the finals of the competition, but were named the runners-up to cricketer

Darren Gough Darren Gough (born 18 September 1970) is a retired English cricketer and former captain of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. The spearhead of England's bowling attack through much of the 1990s, he is England's second highest wicket-taker in one-da ...

and his professional partner, Lilia Kopylova. She and Jackson later competed in the 2005 Christmas special, where they finished in fifth place. In the show's fourth series, Boag was partnered up with former Danish professional footballer,

Peter Schmeichel Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a s ...

. They were eliminated on the seventh week of the competition, finishing in seventh place. She later reunited with Jackson to compete in the 2006 Christmas special, and were voted the winners of the competition. In the show's fifth series, Boag was partnered up with former professional snooker player, Willie Thorne. They were eliminated on the second week of the competition, finishing in thirteenth place. In the show's sixth series, Boag was partnered up with former England rugby union player, Austin Healey. They reached the quarter-finals of the competition, but were eliminated in fourth place. In the show's seventh series, Boag was partnered up with former ''

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British soap opera created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the programme follows the stories o ...

'' actor, Ricky Groves. They were eliminated in week ten of the competition, finishing in sixth place. She later participated in the 2009 Christmas special, where she was partnered with her former celebrity partner Austin Healey. They finished the Christmas special in joint-fifth place, alongside Ricky Whittle and his professional partner,

Natalie Lowe Natalie Lowe (born 15 August 1980) is an Australian ballroom dancer. She is a four-time Australian ballroom dance champion. Lowe competed on, and won, Australia's ''Dancing with the Stars'' with celebrity partner Anthony Koutoufides''.'' She la ...

. In the show's eighth series, Boag was partnered up with former England professional footballer,

Peter Shilton Peter Leslie Shilton (born 18 September 1949) is an English former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. His 30-year career included spells at 11 clubs and he has the distinction of playing over 1,000 league games, including in ...

. They were eliminated in week four of the competition, finishing in twelfth place. She later participated in the 2010 Christmas special, where she was partnered with Liberal Democrats politician,

Vince Cable Sir John Vincent Cable (born 9 May 1943) is a British politician who was Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2017 to 2019. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for Twickenham from 1997 to 2015 and from 2017 to 2019. He also served in the Cabinet a ...

. They finished the Christmas special in second place, losing to actor

John Barrowman John Scot Barrowman (born 11 March 1967) is a Scottish-American actor, author, presenter, singer and comic book writer. He is known for his role as Captain Jack Harkness in ''Doctor Who'' and ''Torchwood'', and as Malcolm Merlyn in the Arrowv ...

and his professional partner, Kristina Rihanoff. In the show's ninth series, Boag was partnered up with comedian and impressionist,

Rory Bremner Roderick Keith Ogilvy "Rory" Bremner,"Rory Bremner". '' Who Do You Think You Are?''. Wall to Wall for BBC One. 2 February 2009. No. 1, series 6. (born 6 April 1961) is a Scottish impressionist and comedian, noted for his work in political sati ...

. They became the third couple to be eliminated from the competition, finishing in twelfth place. She later competed in the 2011 Christmas special, where she was partnered with former professional boxer, Barry McGuigan. They finished the Christmas special in joint-second place, alongside

Simon Webbe Simon Solomon Webbe (born 30 March 1979) is a British singer. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, forming in 2000 before splitting in 2005 and reforming in 2009, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio a ...

and his professional partner, Katya Virshilas. In the show's tenth series, Boag was partnered up with television presenter, Richard Arnold. They became the sixth couple to be eliminated from the competition, finishing in ninth place. The tenth series was her final series before being replaced by Janette Manrara in the eleventh series. ;Series 1 - with celebrity partner

; placed 4th ;Series 2 - with celebrity partner

; placed 3rd ;Series 3 - with celebrity partner

; placed 2nd ;Series 4 - with celebrity partner

; placed 7th ;Series 5 - with celebrity partner Willie Thorne; placed 13th ;Series 6 - with celebrity partner Austin Healey; placed 4th ;Series 7 - with celebrity partner Ricky Groves; placed 6th ;Series 8 - with celebrity partner

; placed 12th ;Series 9 - with celebrity partner

; placed 12th ;Series 10 - with celebrity partner Richard Arnold; placed 9th

Personal life

After they were introduced by Camilla Dallerup, Boag became engaged to business consultant Peter O'Dowd on Christmas Eve 2007. The couple were married on 17 June 2009, in Italy. On 24 April 2014, Erin gave birth by emergency caesarean section to a baby boy, named Ewan Robert Geoffrey O'Dowd. He was born on his father's 50th birthday; Boag's professional dancing partner Anton du Beke is the child's godfather.

Dance tours and other professional engagements

In August 2017, Erin and du Beke announced a three-month 2018 UK Tou
From Broadway to Hollywood
In September 2018, Erin announced she would be appearing with du Beke a
Donahey's Dancing with The Stars Weekends
The tour was to comprise three weekend breaks in England and Wales in 2019, and to feature the stars of ''Strictly Come Dancing'' teaching and performing.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boag, Erin 1975 births Living people People from Auckland New Zealand ballroom dancers 21st-century New Zealand dancers New Zealand expatriates in England