Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand

ballroom dance Ballroom dance is a set of European 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 te ...

r, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

show, ''

Strictly Come Dancing ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (commonly referred to as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin dance. Each couple is ...

'' from 2004 to 2017. From 2005 to 2009, he was a judge on the New Zealand version of the show, ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''.

Early life and career

Cole was born 1976, in Christchurch, New Zealand. He learned to dance at the age of six, along his brother and sister. As a child, he won the Juvenile, Junior and Youth Champion of New Zealand. He moved to the United Kingdom when he was eighteen, where he studied the

pasodoble Pasodoble ( Spanish: ''double step'') is a fast-paced Spanish military march used by infantry troops. Its speed allowed troops to give 120 steps per minute (double the average of a regular unit, hence its name). This often was accompanied by ...

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 histori ...

and

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 ...

at Donaheys, Clayton, Manchester. Before becoming a professional dancer Cole was a builder and roof layer, having left school at 17. He danced with

Camilla Dallerup Camilla Sacre-Dallerup (born 6 April 1974) is a Danish author, life coach, hypnotherapist and former ballroom dancer. Dance career Dallerup was born in Aalborg, where she started dancing at the age of two and a half when her mother took her t ...

, a fellow contestant on the BBC's earlier long-running show ''

Come Dancing ''Come Dancing'' is a British ballroom dancing competition show made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which aired on BBC One at various intervals from 1950 to 1998. Unlike its subsequent follow-up show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ...

'', as amateurs from 1996 to 1999, and professional from 2002 to 2004. Despite Dallerup being Danish-born, they competed in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

for New Zealand, for seven years. In 2002, they won the Professional Latin New Zealand National Championships in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

. In 2003, they won the Professional Latin Universal Open in

Frimley Green Frimley Green is a large village and wards of the United Kingdom, ward of in the borough of Surrey Heath, in Surrey, England. It lies south of the town of Frimley and south-west of central London. Lakeside Leisure Complex, Lakeside Countr ...

, England. and the BATD English Championships in

Watford Watford () is a town and non-metropolitan district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Hertfordshire, England, northwest of Central London, on the banks of the River Colne, Hertfordshire, River Colne. Initially a smal ...

. The same year they won the New Zealand Closed National Championships in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and won the

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

International in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

. In the winter of 2004, Cole had his first acting experience in a feature film: ''Everything to Dance for'' alongside Sasha Jackson, Travis Oliver and Sally Reeve. In 2009, Cole appeared on the New Zealand travel show '' Intrepid Journeys'', however, during a hunting lesson filmed in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (; ), is an island country in Melanesia located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, east o ...

, he was shown killing and eating a chicken, prompting international news coverage. In October 2019, he competed in '' The X Factor: Celebrity'' alongside Jeremy Edwards.

Personal life

In 2010, Cole married Zoe Hobbs, a British model, who gave birth to their first child, daughter Aurelia, on Christmas Day 2012. In March 2018, Zoe gave birth to their son Danté. The family live in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

(2015).

Televised competitions

In summer 2006, he joined ITV's '' Love Island'' and became the runner-up when the show ended on 28 August 2006. Also in that year, he appeared as a guest judge on the fourth episode of ''

Britain's Next Top Model ''Britain's Next Top Model'' (or ''Britain & Ireland's Next Top Model'' 2011–13), often abbreviated as ''BNTM'', ''BINTM'', or ''Top Model'', is a British-Irish reality television show in which a number of women compete for the title of ''Bri ...

'', where he worked with the remaining 10 contestants to teach ballroom dancing prior to judging. In January 2007, Cole appeared on the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

duet A duet (italian language, Italian: ''duo'') is a musical composition for two Performing arts, performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a har ...

show '' Just the Two of Us'' as a celebrity, with

Beverley Knight Beverley Knight (born Beverley Anne Smith, 22 March 1973) is an English singer, songwriter, actress and radio personality. She released her first album, ''The B-Funk'', in 1995. Heavily influenced by American soul music icons such as Sam Cooke ...

as his professional partner. They came second. Cole represented the United Kingdom at the first Eurovision Dance Contest in September 2007. His dance partner was

. The couple were highly praised by British judges yet only managed to finish fifteenth out of the sixteen entrants. In 2010, he was a celebrity guest team captain on ''What Do Kids Know?'' along with

Rufus Hound Rufus Hound (born Robert James Blair Simpson 6 March 1979) is an English actor, comedian and presenter. Early life Hound was born on 6 March 1979 in Essex and moved to Surrey at the age of 7. He was educated at Hoe Bridge School Woking, Fre ...

Joe Swash Joseph Adam Swash (born ) is a British actor and television presenter from London, best known for his role of Mickey Miller in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders'' and various presenting roles with ITV2. He won the eighth series of '' I'm ...

and

Sara Cox Sara Joanne Cyzer ( born 13 December 1974), better known as Sara Cox, is an English broadcaster and author. A presenter on BBC Radio 2, she has been hosting the station's drivetime show since January 2019. She previously presented BBC Radio 1's ...

Watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

. In 2019, he participated in '' Pilgrimage: Road to Rome'', as self-described atheist. In 2022, he appeared as a contestant on the fourteenth series of ''

Dancing on Ice ''Dancing on Ice'' is a British television series broadcast from 2006 to 2014 and then from 2018 to 2025. It was presented by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern. Other previous hosts include Phillip Schofield and Christine Lampard. The series ...

'' and was partnered with Vanessa Bauer. Cole reached the final and placed second.

''Dancing with the Stars'' (NZ)

Cole has judged New Zealand's version of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', ''

'', 2005–2009. In the years when

Craig Revel Horwood Craig Revel Horwood (born 4 January 1965) is an Australian-British author, dancer, choreographer, conductor, theatre director, and former drag queen in the United Kingdom. He is also a patron of the Royal Osteoporosis Society. Horwood is a jud ...

was one of the other judges the two men's opinions and scores were frequently markedly different.

''Strictly Come Dancing''

Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance Cole appeared in the first 15 series

's ''

'', until announcing in January 2018 that his contract had not been renewed. In the 2004 debut series of ''Strictly Come Dancing'', Cole's celebrity partner was

newsreader and presenter

Natasha Kaplinsky Natasha Margaret Kaplinsky (born 9 September 1972)The Donor, News and information for blood donors, Winter 2009, National Blood Service, England, page 55 is an English newsreader, TV presenter and journalist, best known for her roles as a st ...

. They went on to win the show. In the

second The second (symbol: s) is a unit of time derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes, and finally to 60 seconds each (24 × 60 × 60 = 86400). The current and formal definition in the International System of U ...

series, he was partnered with ''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' actress Sarah Manners. However, they became the fifth couple to leave the competition. During the 2004

Christmas Special Christmas themes have long been an inspiration to artists and writers. A prominent aspect of Christian media, the topic first appeared Christmas in literature, in literature and Christmas music, in music. Filmmakers have picked up on this wealth o ...

Cole again partnered Kaplinsky and they came in second place, dancing a

Foxtrot The foxtrot is a smooth, progressive dance characterized by long, continuous flowing movements across the dance floor. It is danced to big band (usually vocal) music. The dance is similar in its look to waltz, although the rhythm is in a time ...

. In Series 3 Cole was then paired with

GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...

presenter and newsreader

Fiona Phillips Fiona Phillips (born 1 January 1961) is a British journalist, broadcaster and television presenter. She is best known for presenting the ITV Breakfast programme '' GMTV Today''. Early life Phillips was born in Canterbury Hospital in Canterbu ...

. They were eliminated during the fourth week, coming ninth. Cole then appeared in the 2005

with

Rachel Hunter Rachel Hunter (born 8 September 1969) is a New Zealand model, actress, and the host of Imagine Television, Imagination Television's ''Rachel Hunter's Tour of Beauty''. She has appeared on several magazine covers, including ''Vogue (magazine), ...

, dancing a Rumba. He returned to compete on the fourth series, where he partnered with actress Claire King. They were the ninth couple to be eliminated. In the fifth series, Cole partnered Kelly Brook. They withdrew in week 9 due to the death of Brook's father. For the sixth series, Cole's dance partner was presenter

Lisa Snowdon Lisa Snowdon
7 May 2001, ''People'' (born Lisa Snawdon; 23 January 1972) is an English television and ...

. They reached the finals but were eliminated in third place. Cole and Snowdon danced again in the 2008 Christmas special, performing a quickstep. In Series 7 Cole's partner was businesswoman and media personality Jo Wood. They were eliminated in week 6. In the eighth series, Cole's partner was American singer

Michelle Williams Michelle Williams or Michele Williams may refer to: * Michelle Ann Williams (born circa 1965), American public health scholar * Michelle Williams (singer) (born 1979), American singer, previously a member of Destiny's Child * Michelle Williams (actr ...

; they were eliminated in the seventh week of competition. For the ninth series, Cole was paired with singer

Lulu Lulu may refer to: Companies * LuLu, an early automobile manufacturer * Lulu.com, an online e-books and print self-publishing platform, distributor, and retailer * Lulu Hypermarket, a retail chain in Asia * Lululemon Athletica or simply Lulu, a C ...

. They were eliminated on the sixth week. Cole also stepped in to partner

Holly Valance Holly Rachel Candy (; born 11 May 1983), known professionally as Holly Valance, is an Australian and British actress, singer, model, and a right-wing political activist. Valance became well known for her role as Felicity Scully on the Austra ...

and

Anita Dobson Anita, Lady May (born 29 April 1949), known as Anita Dobson, is an English actress and singer. She is best known for playing Landlord, landlady Angie Watts in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from the show's inception in 1985 until 1988. She ac ...

during weeks 7 and 9 respectively due to their original partners being injured. For the tenth series, Cole was partnered with Olympic track cyclist,

Victoria Pendleton Victoria Louise Pendleton (born 24 September 1980) is a British former Track cycling, track cyclist who specialised in the Sprint (cycling), sprint, team sprint and keirin disciplines. She is a former Cycling at the Summer Olympics, Olympic, Wo ...

. They were eliminated in the eighth week of competition. In series 11, Cole partnered singer-songwriter

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor (born 10 April 1979) is an English singer and songwriter. She first came to prominence in the late 1990s as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band Theaudience. After the group disbanded, Ellis-Bextor went solo and ...

, reaching the final and being eliminated in fourth place. For the twelfth series, his dance partner was ''

'' actress

Sunetra Sarker Sunetra Sarker (born 25 June 1973) is an English actress and presenter, known for her roles as Nisha Batra in '' Brookside'', Anji Mittel in '' No Angels'', Zoe Hanna in '' Casualty'', and Kaneez Paracha in '' Ackley Bridge''. In 2014, she t ...

. They were the ninth couple to be eliminated. Cole competed with television presenter Kirsty Gallacher in the show's

thirteenth In music or music theory, a thirteenth is the note thirteen scale degrees from the root of a chord and also the interval between the root and the thirteenth. The thirteenth is most commonly major or minor . A thirteenth chord is th ...

series and was eliminated in week 6. Following his elimination with Gallacher, Cole entered the ''Children in Need'' special which he won with actress Laura Main. Cole also took part in the 2015 ''Christmas Special'', where he and series 11 winner Abbey Clancy danced a

waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

. For the show's fourteenth series, Cole was partnered with American singer

Anastacia Anastacia Lyn Newkirk ( ; born September 17, 1968) is an American singer-songwriter. Her first two studio albums, '' Not That Kind'' (2000) and '' Freak of Nature'' (2001), achieved chart success with the singles " I'm Outta Love", " Not That Ki ...

. They were placed in the bottom two in week 2, but an injury sustained by Anastacia meant they were unable to take part in the dance-off and the decision was referred to the public vote. Anastacia and Cole polled more votes than

Melvin Odoom Melvin Kuuku Odoom (born 30 July 1980) is a British radio DJ and television presenter. Alongside Rickie Haywood-Williams and Charlie Hedges, he presented the Kiss (UK radio station), Kiss FM breakfast show (2009–2018) and since then, on BBC R ...

and

Janette Manrara Janette Manrara Škorjanec (born November 16, 1983) is an American singer, choreographer and professional dancer, and television presenter. She is best known for her appearances on the US series '' So You Think You Can Dance'' and British dance re ...

, and were allowed to stay in the competition. They were eventually eliminated in week 6. In 2017 Cole returned for the fifteenth series, paired with '' Good Morning Britain'' presenter Charlotte Hawkins. They were eliminated in week 4. He took part in that year's Christmas Special, partnering

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 ...

: the couple won the event.

''Strictly Come Dancing'' performances

Series 1 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 33.0 Series 2 – with celebrity dance partner Sarah Manners Series average: 26.8 Series 3 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 15.0 Series 4 with celebrity dance partner Claire King Series average: 24.9 Series 5 – with celebrity dance partner Kelly Brook Series average: 33.0 Series 6 – with celebrity dance partner

Lisa Snowdon Lisa Snowdon
7 May 2001, ''People'' (born Lisa Snawdon; 23 January 1972) is an English television and ...

Series average: 34.8 Series 7 – with celebrity dance partner: Jo Wood Series average: 18.8 Series 8 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 26.3 Series 9 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 24.8 Series 10 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 24.1 Series 11 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 33.3 Series 12 – with celebrity dance partner

Series average: 28.4 Series 13 – with celebrity dance partner Kirsty Gallacher Series Average 21.7 Series 14 – with celebrity dance partner

Series Average 26.5 Due to Cole being too ill to dance on Week 5,

danced with

Gorka Márquez Gorka Márquez (; born 4 September 1990) is a Spanish professional dancer, best known for appearing on the British dance show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Márquez began dancing at the age of 12, and in 2010 he represented Spain at the ...

. Series 15 – with celebrity dance partner Charlotte Hawkins Series average: 17.5

Charity work

Cole has supported several charity functions including children's anti-bullying campaigning group Act Against Bullying.AAB 20 Cup

References

External links

BBC website for ''Strictly Come Dancing''

Brendan Cole website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cole, Brendan 1976 births Living people New Zealand atheists New Zealand ballroom dancers New Zealand expatriates in England New Zealand people of Scottish descent Entertainers from Christchurch Strictly Come Dancing winners 21st-century New Zealand dancers