''Ples sa zvijezdama'' (English: ''Dancing with the Stars'') is a

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

competition

television series A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...

. It is the Croatian version of the British television series ''

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 ...

'' and a part of the global ''

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) ...

'' television franchise. The series follows various Croatian

celebrities Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group due to the attention given to them by mass media. The word is also used to refer to famous individuals. A person may attain celebrity status by having great w ...

paired up with professional dancers competing for the win an elimination-style format. Originally produced and broadcast by HRT, ''Ples sa zvijezdama'' debuted on

HRT 1 HRT 1 (HTV 1, ''"Prvi program"'') is a Croatian television channel, operated by public broadcaster Hrvatska Radiotelevizija (HRT).Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. - Annual Report, 2007'. Kuching: Acquisdata Pty Ltd. Accessed July 28, 2024. � ...

in December 2006 to a ratings success, becoming one of the most popular television series on the network during its run. After the eighth season concluded in 2013, the series went on a hiatus on HRT, until it was picked up by Nova TV, which aired the

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

, tenth and eleventh season from 2019 to 2023. In November 2024, various Croatian news outlets reported that HRT bought back the license for the series and is planning to air the overall twelfth season.

Format

Various celebrities are paired up with professional dancers. Each week, the pair dances a certain style of dance, and their performance is scored by a panel of professional judges. Viewers can also cast their vote via

televoting Televoting (also telephone voting, phone voting, and call-in voting) is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest ...

; the pair's final score is a combination of judge's and televote points. At the end of the episode, the weakest pair is eliminated. The highest-scoring pair wins at the end of the season.

Cast

Presenters and judges

;Color key:

Professional dancers

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Series overview

Season 1 (2006–2007)

The series premiered on 2 December 2006 on

. The first season was won by

Zrinka Cvitešić Zrinka Cvitešić (born 18 July 1979) is a Croatian film, television and theatre actress. Biography The elder of two daughters, Zrinka Cvitešić was born in Karlovac, in the Karlovac County to Ivan and Višnja Cvitešić. Her mother played ...

and her partner Nicolas Quesnoit. The highest scores of the season (40 points) were achieved by: *Zrinka & Nicolas (Jive – 3rd episode) *Zrinka & Nicolas (Slowfox – 4th episode) *Maja & Ištvan (Paso Doble – 4th episode) *Maja & Ištvan (English Waltz – 6th episode) *Zrinka & Nicolas – ''total – 80 points'' (English Waltz & Paso Doble – 7th episode) *Maja & Ištvan (Slowfox – 7th episode) *Zrinka & Nicolas – ''total – 120 points'' (English Waltz, Samba & Freestyle – final episode) *Rene & Mirjana (Freestyle – final episode) The lowest score of the season was achieved by: *Žarko & Ivana – 16 points (Samba – 5th episode)

Season 2 (2007)

The second season premiered on 3 November and concluded on 22 December 2007 on

Luka Nižetić Luka Nižetić (born 12 August 1983) is a Croatian singer. His debut album '' Premijera'' was released in 2005. He is best known for his hits "Amsterdam" and "Proljeće" ("Springtime"). Early life Luka Nižetić was born in Split, SR Croatia, Y ...

won with his professional partner Mirjana Žutić. The highest scores of the season (40 points) were achieved by: *Luka & Mirjana (Paso Doble – 6th episode) *Lana & Hrvoje ''- total – 80 points'' (Quickstep & Paso Doble – 7th episode) *Luka & Mirjana ''- total – 80 points'' (

Tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries from a combination of Arge ...

& Cha-cha-cha – 7th episode) *Luka & Mirjana (Paso Doble & Freestyle – final episode) The lowest score of the season was achieved by: *Davor & Tamara – 20 points (Samba – 5th episode)

Season 3 (2008)

The third season ran for eight episodes from 25 October to 20 December 2008 on

. The season was won by actor Mario Valentić and his professional partner Ana Herceg.

Season 4 (2009)

The fourth season premiered on 31 October 2009 on

. The winning pair was

Franka Batelić Franka Batelić (born 7 June 1992), also known as Franka, is a Croatian singer-songwriter. She rose to fame as the winner of the first season of '' Showtime''. She represented Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 with the song " Crazy". ...

with her professional partner Ištvan Varga.

Season 5 (2010)

The fifth season premiered on 30 October 2010 on

. The winner was Nera Stipičević with her professional partner Damir Horvatinčić.

Season 6 (2011)

The sixth season premiered 29 October 2011 on

. The season was won by

Marko Tolja Marko Tolja (born 3 July 1984) is a Croatian singer. Career 1984–2005: Early life and education Marko Tolja was born on 3 July 1984 in Rijeka to Koraljka and Darko Tolja. Tolja gained his first musical experiences with his uncle Davor, who san ...

and his professional partner Ana Herceg.

Season 7 (2012)

The seventh season premiered on 3 November 2012 on

. The winners were Barbara Radulović and Robert Schubert.

Season 8 (2013)

The eighth season premiered on 2 November, and concluded on 21 December 2013 on

. The winner was Mislav Čavajda with his professional partner Petra Jeričević.

Season 9 (2019)

In late 2018, various Croatian news outlets reported that the series is returning after the hiatus that followed the eighth season in 2013. The series was moved to Nova TV for its ninth season, which ran from 3 March to 2 June 2019.

Slavko Sobin Slavko Sobin (born 13 November 1984 in Split) is a Croatian actor. Biography At 18 Sobin moved to Los Angeles to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where he graduated in 2007. Upon his return to Croatia, he moved to Zagreb ...

and his professional partner Gabriela Pilić won.

Season 10 (2022)

The tenth season premiered on 6 March, and concluded on 29 May 2022 on Nova TV. The season was won by Pedro Stolz and his professional partner Valentina Walme.

Season 11 (2023)

The eleventh season premiered on 5 March, and concluded on 21 May 2023 on Nova TV. The season was won by social media

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

Marco Cuccurin and his professional partner Paula Tonković.

Season 12 (TBA)

In November 2024, various Croatian media news outlets reported that HRT is in the process of retrieving the license for the series. The twelfth season, which would become the first season since 2013 to air on

, has been reported to most likely premiere in the Spring of 2025. HRT's 2025 financial plan included provisions for a new season of the series, which was expected to air in 2025. However, as of May 2025, the season has still not been officially announced.

Reception

The series was a rating success for HRT, becoming one of the network's most popular shows over the years. The premiere episode of the fourth season, broadcast in 2009, drew an audience of almost million viewers. The finale of the eleventh season, broadcast on 21 May 2023 on Nova TV, was watched by nearly 500,000 viewers which made up 38% of television viewers.

References

External links

* * {{Nova TV (Croatia) original programming 2006 Croatian television series debuts Croatian reality television series Dance competition television shows Croatian television series based on British television series Croatian Radiotelevision original programming Nova TV (Croatia) original programming Croatian television series revived after cancellation