''It Takes Two'' was an Australian music talent show, which ran for three seasons from May 2006 to April 2008. It was based on the original UK programme '' Just the Two of Us''.

Concept

The show paired celebrities with professional singers who each week competed against each other in a sing-off to impress a panel of judges and ultimately the viewing public in order to survive potential elimination. Through both telephone and

SMS Short Message Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile phones exchange short text messages, t ...

voting Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

, viewers voted for the duo they thought should remain in the competition. Judges' scores were also taken into account and were combined with the viewer votes when determining which duos stayed and went each week. In all cases, the home viewers always had the final say. The show was originally referred to in the media as ''Singing with the Stars'', partly because of the similarity in concept to ''

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) ...

''.

Grant Denyer Grant Craig Denyer (born 12 September 1977) is an Australian television and radio presenter and motor racing driver, who has worked for several television networks, including Seven Network and Network 10, mostly serving as a presenter. He previ ...

hosted ''It Takes Two'' between 2006 and 2008 with a various of female co-hosts such as

Terasa Livingstone Terasa Livingstone (born 9 April 1975) is an Australian theatre, film and television actress, TV presenter and children's host. She lives in Los Angeles with her husband, fellow Australian actor Wil Traval. Career She began her career as a ...

Kate Ritchie Katherine Leigh Ritchie is an Australian actress, radio presenter, and children's author. She is best known for her long-running role as original character Sally Fletcher on the television soap opera ''Home and Away'', for which she won two Go ...

and the most recent host from the 2008 season

Erika Heynatz Erika Heynatz (born 25 March 1975) is an Australian Model (person), model, actress, singer, and television personality. She joined long-running Australian TV series ''Home and Away'' in June 2015, as villainous biology teacher Charlotte King (Ho ...

. Every season finale ended with all contestants, judges and hosts singing the show's theme song " It Takes Two", originally performed by

Marvin Gaye Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. (; April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984) was an American Rhythm and blues, R&B and soul singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He helped shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player an ...

and

Kim Weston Kim Weston (born December 20, 1939) is an American soul singer, and Motown alumna. In the 1960s, Weston scored hits with the songs "Love Me All the Way" and " Take Me in Your Arms (Rock Me a Little While)", and with her duet with Marvin Gaye, " ...

, and the studio audience and home viewers were encouraged to join in the singing too. By the end of 2008, Seven Network announced that they had no plans for a fourth season.

On air

Regular judges

Marina Prior Marina Prior (born 18 October 1963) is an Australian soprano and actress with a career mainly in musical theatre. From 1990 to 1993, she starred as the original Christine Daaé in the Australian premiere of ''The Phantom of the Opera (1986 mus ...

* James Valentine * Ross Wilson *Amanda Pelman

Music director

Chong Lim Chong Voon Lim (born 1958 in Ipoh, Malaysia) is a Malaysian-born Australian-based musical director, keyboardist, producer, and session musician. Lim attended St. Michael's Institution for secondary education. He relocated to Melbourne, Australi ...

Guest judge

Daryl Braithwaite Daryl Braithwaite (born 11 January 1949) is an Australian singer. He was the lead vocalist of Sherbet (1970–1984 and many subsequent reunions). Braithwaite also has a solo career, placing 15 singles in the Australian top 40, including ...

(Guest judge in season 2) *

Dannii Minogue Dannii Minogue (; born 20 October 1971) is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. As a child, she became known for her appearances on the television talent show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988). She went on to play the r ...

(Guest judge in season 3)

Co-hosts

(2008) *

(2007) *

(2006)

Season One (2006)

The first season premiered on Sunday 28 May 2006 and concluded on Sunday 6 August 2006. It featured the following celebrities:

Judges' scores

;Scorecard : indicate the couples with the lowest score for each week. : indicate the couples with the highest score for each week. : indicates the couples eliminated that week : indicates the winning couple. : indicates the runner-up couple EP = Episode
S = Swing, P = Pop, R = Rock, M = Movies/Musicals, R&R = Rock & Roll, N1 = Number Ones, B = Ballad, D = Disco, C = Country, PR = Professional Hit, R&B = R&B, FA = Fast, SL = Slow, J = Journey.

and her partner David Hobson were eventually declared the winners, defeating Sarah Ryan and her partner,

Guy Sebastian Guy Theodore Sebastian (born 26 October 1981) is an Australian singer who rose to fame after winning the Australian Idol (season 1), first season of ''Australian Idol'', in 2003. Born in Malaysia and raised in Adelaide, Australia, Sebastian h ...

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

*There was no episode broadcast on 11 June due to the Seven Network's coverage of a

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

international between

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, therefore there were no contestant eliminations for that week. *On 23 July,

Larry Emdur Larry Emdur (born 9 December 1964) is an Australian Gold Logie award winning television presenter. Emdur is currently co-host of '' The Morning Show'' alongside Kylie Gillies, and host of '' The Chase Australia''. The duo also hosted the A ...

was the fill-in host for

. This was due to Denyer's commitments in the second tier of the

V8 Supercars The Supercars Championship, also known as the Repco Supercars Championship under sponsorship and historically as V8 Supercars, is a touring car racing category in Australia and New Zealand, running as an International Series under Fédération I ...

series. *

Nick Lachey Nicholas Scott Lachey ( ; born November 9, 1973) is an American actor, singer-songwriter, producer, TV personality and host. He rose to fame as the lead singer of the multi-platinum-selling boyband 98 Degrees and later starred in the reality ser ...

was a special guest in the grand finale on 6 August, who performed " What's Left of Me".

Season Two (2007)

The second season premiered on Tuesday, 8 May 2007 and concluded on Tuesday, 10 July 2007. It featured the following celebrities:

Judges' scores

¹Week 6 featured a guest judge (

), and scores were out of 50.
²Contestants in weeks 8 & 9 performed two songs, resulting with two scores out of 40, and added to out of 80.
³Contestants in the grand finale performed three songs, with three scores out of 40, and added out of 120.

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

*It was reported that celebrities

Laura Csortan Laura Csortan (born 9 November 1976) is an Australian model, television presenter and beauty pageant titleholder. She is known for winning the title of Miss Australia in the year 1997 and represented Australia at Miss Universe 1997 where she wa ...

and Candice Falzon also auditioned, but were turned down for a "lack of basic singing ability". *

, a contestant in season one, also replaced

as co-host for this season. *New singing partners included

Anthony Callea Anthony Cosmo Callea (born 13 December 1982) is an Australian singer-songwriter and stage actor who rose to prominence as the runner-up in the 2004 season of ''Australian Idol''. Callea's debut single, a cover of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli' ...

, David Campbell and

Kate Ceberano Catherine Yvette Ceberano ( or , born 17 November 1966) is an Australian singer and actress who performs in the rock, soul, jazz and pop genres, as well as in film and musicals such as '' Jesus Christ Superstar''. Her single " Bedroom Eyes" re ...

, replacing

Glenn Shorrock Glenn Barrie Shorrock (born 30 June 1944) is an Australian singer and songwriter. He was a founding member of rock bands the Twilights, Axiom, Little River Band and post LRB spin-off trio Birtles Shorrock Goble, as well as being a solo perfo ...

and

Karen Knowles Karen Knowles (born 4 March 1964) is an Australian singer-songwriter and record producer, and former television personality. Biography 1975-1980s: Early career Knowles was educated in Melbourne at the Methodist Ladies' College. She became na ...

. *On 15 May,

was the fill-in host for Grant Denyer. In this episode, Kate Ritchie made a comment that when he was the host last time, she got voted out from last season. *On 12 June, the show featured a guest judge,

. *On 26 June, the show featured a special guest, Canadian singer

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. Regarded as a pop icon, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American ...

who sang a few songs from his new album, ''

Call Me Irresponsible "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1963. According to the Mel Tormé book ''The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland o ...

''.

Season Three (2008)

The third and final season of ''It Takes Two'' commenced on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 and concluded on Tuesday, 22 April 2008.

, winner of the show's first season was the new co-host alongside

. Here's all the celebrities featured in the final season:

Judges' scores

¹Week 5 featured a guest judge (

), and scores were still out of 40. She replaced Ross Wilson for the week, as he was unable to attend.
²Contestants in weeks 8 & 9 performed two songs, resulting with ''two'' scores out of 40, and added to out of 80.
³Contestants in the grand finale will perform three songs, with ''three'' scores out of 40, and added out of 120.

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

*Despite being turned down for a ''lack of basic singing ability'' in Season 2, ironwoman Candice Falzon is one of the contestants in Season 3. *New singing partners in this season are

Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in ...

Ian Moss Ian Richard Moss (born 20 March 1955) is an Australian rock musician from Alice Springs. He is the founding mainstay guitarist and occasional singer of Cold Chisel. In that group's initial eleven year phase from 1973 to 1984, Moss was recorded ...

and

Adam Harvey Adam Harvey (born 21 December 1974) is an Australian country music singer. Harvey has sold over half a million records, has been nominated five times for an ARIA Music Award and has won nine golden guitars at the Country Music Awards of Aust ...

, replacing Paulini Curuenavuli,

Dave Gleeson David Sean "Gleeso" Gleeson (born 3 June 1968) is the lead singer of Australian hard rock group The Screaming Jets. He was born in Newcastle, New South Wales and currently resides in Adelaide Hills, South Australia. With the death of Screami ...

and

Troy Cassar-Daley Troy Cassar-Daley (born 18 May 1969) is an Australian country music songwriter and entertainer. Cassar-Daley has released thirteen studio albums, two live albums and five compilation albums over 30 years, including the platinum-selling '' The ...

. *

declined to return for the third season of the show. *

Scott Draper Scott Dennis Draper (born 5 June 1974) is an Australian former tennis player and golfer. He won the Australian Open Mixed Doubles with Samantha Stosur in 2005. Draper also reached the fourth round of the 1995 and 1996 French Opens and the fourt ...

, Mark Wilson,

Julia Morris Julia Carolyn Margaret Morris is an Australian comedian, television presenter, and actress. She has worked extensively in Australian television and radio, touring the country with her solo comedy shows. She relocated to the United Kingdom in ...

John Mangos John (born 9 July 1956) is an Australian news presenter. Mangos has previously been a news presenter on Sky News Australia. He has also made cameo appearances on the Australian comedy programs ''Pizza'', '' Swift and Shift Couriers'' and ''Ho ...

, and

Russell Robertson Russell "Robbo" Robertson (born 24 November 1978) is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who last played for the Melbourne Football Club. Robertson is one of the Melbourne's great goalkickers, being one of just four players in ...

appeared on the ''

Deal or No Deal ''Deal or No Deal'' is the name of several closely related television game shows, the first of which (launching the format) was the Dutch '' Miljoenenjacht'' (''Hunt/Chase for Millions''). The centerpiece of this format is the final round (a ...

'' – '' It Takes Two'' special, which also aired on the Seven Network during the week of 3 February 2008. *On 18 March 2008, a countdown special of ''It Takes Two'' aired for one hour highlighting each singing duos journey the final six have had throughout their stint in Season 3. Hence, no live performances were aired, therefore no contestant was eliminated that week. *

performed her version of disco track ''

Xanadu (Olivia Newton-John and Electric Light Orchestra song) "Xanadu" is the title song from the soundtrack of the 1980 musical film of the same name. Written by Jeff Lynne of the English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), the song is performed by British and Australian singer, songwriter and act ...

'' on an episode of this season.

Ratings

Season 1 was a hit for the Seven Network, providing them with solid numbers post , where on a Sunday; Seven had little success up against the

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

's ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who distinguished it from other news programs by using a unique style o ...

'', and '' Big Brother'' and ''

Australian Idol ''Australian Idol'' is an Australian singing competition, which began its first season in July 2003 and ended its initial run in November 2009. As part of the ''Idol'' franchise, Australian Idol originated from the reality program '' Pop Id ...

'' on

Network Ten Network 10 (commonly known as the 10 Network, Channel 10 or simply 10) is an Australian commercial television network. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paramount Global's Paramount Networks UK & Australia, UK & Australia division and is o ...

. Season 2 moved to a new night and time in 2007: 7:30 pm Tuesdays, airing in the slot usually occupied by the highly successful ''

''. The premiere ranked third for the night, averaging 1.5 million viewers, behind Seven's news programming and ahead of a special extended edition of Nine's ''

20 to 1 ''20 to One'' (known as ''20 to 1'' before 2016) is an Australian television series on the Nine Network from 2005, that counts down an undefined "top 20" of elements or events of popular culture, such as films, songs, or sporting scandals. The ...

'' episode "Great Movie One-Liners". The show managed to stay in the top 3 of the rating, and proved to be very successful for the Seven Network. In Season 3, with only one season of ''

'' to air later in 2008, ''It Takes Two'' was moved to February, however retained the highly successful timeslot of 7:30 pm on Tuesdays.

References

External links

Official website (via Internet Archive)
{{DEFAULTSORT:It Takes Two (Australian Tv Series) Seven Network original programming 2000s Australian reality television series Australian music television series Singing talent shows 2006 Australian television series debuts 2008 Australian television series endings