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 ...

'' returned for its fifteenth series in 2017 with a launch show on 9 September on

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 ...

, and live shows starting on 23 September.

Tess Daly Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly (born 29 March 1969) is an English television presenter and former model. Since 2004, she has co-presented the BBC One dancing competition show '' Strictly Come Dancing''. Early life Helen Elizabeth Daly was born o ...

and

Claudia Winkleman Claudia Anne Irena Winkleman (born 15 January 1972) is an English broadcaster and writer. She has been nominated three times for the British Academy Television Award for Best Entertainment Performance for co-presenting the BBC One dancing compet ...

returned as hosts, while

Zoe Ball Zoe Louise Ball (born 23 November 1970) is a British broadcaster and presenter. She was the first female host of the Radio 1 and Radio 2 breakfast shows for the BBC, and in 2024 was confirmed as the second-highest paid BBC presenter after G ...

returned to host '' Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two'' on

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

Darcey Bussell Dame Darcey Andrea Bussell (born Marnie Mercedes Darcey Pemberton Crittle; 27 April 1969) is a retired English ballet dancer, ballerina and a former judge on the BBC television dance contest ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Trained at the Arts Educ ...

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 ...

, and

Bruno Tonioli Bruno Tonioli (; born 25 November 1955) is a British-Italian television personality, choreographer and dancer. He has judged on the British television talent shows ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004–2019), ''DanceX'' (2007) and ''Britain's Got Ta ...

returned as judges. On 9 May 2017, it was announced that

Len Goodman Leonard Gordon Goodman (25 April 1944 – 22 April 2023) was an English professional ballroom dancer, dance teacher, and dance competition adjudicator. He appeared as head judge on the UK television programme ''Strictly Come Dancing'' – in w ...

, who had retired from the show at the end of the previous series, would be replaced by

Shirley Ballas Shirley Annette Ballas (née Rich, formerly Stopford; born 6 September 1960) is an English dancer and television personality. She specialises in the International Latin division, where she won several championship titles which earned her the n ...

. Tonioli missed the week 5 episode due to a scheduling conflict, but was not replaced by a guest judge. ''

Holby City ''Holby City'' (stylised on-screen as HOLBY CIY) is a British medical drama television series that aired weekly on BBC One. It was created by Tony McHale and Mal Young as a Spin-off (media), spin-off from the established BBC medical drama '' ...

'' actor

Joe McFadden Joseph McFadden (born 9 October 1975) is a Scottish actor, best known for his roles in ''The Crow Road'', '' Sex, Chips & Rock n' Roll'', '' Heartbeat'', ''Holby City'', and ''Take The High Road''. He won the 2017 series of the BBC One series ' ...

and

Katya Jones Katya Jones (born Ekaterina Andreevna Sokolova; ; 12 May 1989) is a Russians, Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show ''Strictly Come Dancing'', which she won in 2017 with her ...

were announced as the winners on 16 December; while

Gemma Atkinson Gemma Louise Atkinson (born 16 November 1984) is an English influencer, radio presenter, and former actress and glamour model. She played Lisa Hunter in ''Hollyoaks'' (2001–2005, 2022) and in three spin-off series, '' Hollyoaks: After Hours ...

and

Aljaž Škorjanec Aljaž Škorjanec (born 19 February 1990) is a Slovenian dancer and choreographer, who is known for appearing on the BBC series ''Strictly Come Dancing'' as a professional dancer from 2013 to 2021, and from 2024 onwards. Career Aljaž Škorja ...

Debbie McGee Debra Ann McGee (born 31 October 1958) is an English television, radio and stage performer who is best known as the assistant and widow of magician Paul Daniels. McGee is a former ballet dancer and for three years was artistic director of her ...

and

Giovanni Pernice Giovanni Pernice (born 5 September 1990) is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012 ...

, and

Alexandra Burke Alexandra Imelda Cecelia Ewen Burke (born 25 August 1988) is an English singer, songwriter and actress. She won the fifth series of the talent television show ''The X Factor'' in 2008. Following the show, she was signed to Syco Music and releas ...

and

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 ...

were the runners-up.

Format

The couples dance each week in a live show. The judges score each performance out of ten. The couples are then ranked according to the judges' scores and given points according to their rank, with the lowest scored couple receiving one point, and the highest scored couple receiving the most points (the maximum number of points available depends on the number of couples remaining in the competition). The public are also invited to vote for their favourite couples, and the couples are ranked again according to the number of votes they receive, again receiving points; the couple with the fewest votes receiving one point, and the couple with the most votes receiving the most points. The points for judges' score and public vote are then added together, and the two couples with the fewest points are placed in the bottom two. If two couples have equal points, the points from the public vote are given precedence. As with the previous series, the bottom two couples have to perform a dance-off on the results show. Based on that performance alone, each judge then votes on which couple should stay and which couple should leave, with

, as head judge, having the last and deciding vote.

Professional dancers

On 21 June 2017, the list of professionals returning for the fifteenth series was revealed. Professionals from the last series who did not return included

Joanne Clifton Joanne Kirsty Clifton (born 24 October 1983) is an English professional dancer, presenter, actress, and singer. She won the World Ballroom Showdance Championship in 2014, and won the European Professional Ballroom Championship and World Dancespor ...

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 ...

, and Oksana Platero. They were replaced by former '' Dancing with the Stars Australia'' professional Dianne Buswell,

Nadiya Bychkova Nadiya Bychkova (; born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian Ballroom dance, ballroom and Latin dance, Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in '10' Dance. In 2017, ...

, and

Amy Dowden Amy Dowden (born 10 August 1990) is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Dowden joined the series in 2017, and i ...

. This series saw the final appearance of professional dancer

Brendan Cole Brendan Cole (born 23 April 1976) is a New Zealand ballroom dancer, specialising in Latin American dancing. He is most famous for appearing as a professional dancer on the BBC One show, ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2004 to 2017. From 2005 to ...

Couples

In the fifteenth series, there were fifteen celebrity contestants. On 7 August 2017, the first celebrity announced to be participating in the series was

The Saturdays The Saturdays are an English-Irish girl group based in London, England. The group formed during the summer of 2007 and has been on hiatus since 2014. The lineup consists of Frankie Bridge, Una Healy, Rochelle Humes, Mollie King, and Vanessa Whi ...

singer

Mollie King Mollie Elizabeth King (born 4 June 1987) is an English pop singer, songwriter, radio presenter and a member of girl group The Saturdays. As part of The Saturdays, King has had 13 Top 10 and eight Top 5 singles, including the UK number-one hit ...

. Celebrity reveals continued through the month with the line-up fully announced on ''

The One Show ''The One Show'' is a British television magazine and chat show programme. Broadcast live on BBC One weekdays at 7:00 pm, it features topical stories and studio guests. It is currently co-hosted by Alex Jones, Roman Kemp, Ronan Keating ...

'' on 21 August 2017.

Scoring chart

The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger (). Color key: ;Notes

Weekly scores

''Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

''.

Launch show

Musical guests: *

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

– " Life's About to Get Good" *

Rita Ora Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...

– " Lonely Together" During the show, the professional dancers performed a tribute to former host Sir Bruce Forsyth, who had died just weeks before the series began.

Week 1

There was no elimination this week; all scores and votes carried over to the following week. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 2

Musical guest:

Emeli Sandé Adele Emily Sandé ( ; previously Gouraguine; born 10 March 1987), known professionally as Emeli Sandé, is a British singer and songwriter. Born in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England and raised in Alford, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, Sandé rose t ...

— "

Starlight Starlight is the light emitted by stars. It typically refers to visible electromagnetic radiation from stars other than the Sun, observable from Earth at night, although a component of starlight is observable from Earth during daytime. Sunlig ...

" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Chizzy & Pasha *Bussell: Brian & Amy *Tonioli: Brian & Amy *Ballas: Brian & Amy

Week 3: Movie Week

Musical guest:

Sheridan Smith Sheridan Caroline Sian Smith (born 25 June 1981) is an English actress and singer. She came to prominence after playing a variety of characters in sitcoms, including '' The Royle Family'' (1999–2000), ''Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Cri ...

— " My Man" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Simon & Karen *Bussell: Simon & Karen *Tonioli: Simon & Karen *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Simon & Karen''

Week 4

Musical guest:

Gregory Porter Gregory Porter (born November 4, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He has twice won the Grammy Award for Best Jazz Vocal Album: first in 2014 for '' Liquid Spirit'' and then again in 2017 for '' Take Me to the Alley''. Ear ...

— "

Smile A smile is a facial expression formed primarily by flexing the muscles at the sides of the mouth. Some smiles include a contraction of the muscles at the corner of the eyes, an action known as a Duchenne smile. Among humans, a smile expresses d ...

" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Davood & Nadiya *Bussell: Davood & Nadiya *Tonioli: Davood & Nadiya *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Davood & Nadiya''

Week 5

''Individual judges' scores given in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right:

.'' Musical guest:

The Script The Script are an Irish Soft rock, soft-rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin. The band currently consists of Danny O'Donoghue (lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards), Glen Power (drums, percussion, backing vocals), Benjamin Seargent (bass, backin ...

— "Arms Open" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Simon & Karen *Bussell: Simon & Karen *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Simon & Karen''

Week 6: Halloween Week

Musical guest: Steps — " Scared of the Dark" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Mollie & AJ *Bussell: Mollie & AJ *Tonioli: Mollie & AJ *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Mollie & AJ''

Week 7

Musical guest:

Stereophonics Stereophonics are a Welsh pop and rock music, Welsh rock band formed in 1992 in the village of Cwmaman in the Cynon Valley. The band consists of Kelly Jones (lead vocals, lead guitar, keyboards), Richard Jones (Stereophonics), Richard Jones (n ...

— "Caught by the Wind" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Mollie & AJ *Bussell: Aston & Janette *Tonioli: Aston & Janette *Ballas: Mollie & AJ ''(Since the other judges were not unanimous, Shirley Ballas, as head judge, made the final decision to save Mollie & AJ.)''

Week 8

Musical guest:

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

— " Autumn Leaves" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Jonnie & Oti *Bussell: Jonnie & Oti *Tonioli: Jonnie & Oti *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jonnie & Oti''

Week 9: Blackpool Week

Musical guests: *

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath in 1981 by Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the synth-pop bands o ...

— "

Everybody Wants to Rule the World "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by the English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album ''Songs from the Big Chair'' (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hug ...

" *

Alfie Boe Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (born 29 September 1973) is an English actor and singer who performs primarily in musical theatre. Boe is best known for his performances as Jean Valjean in the musical ''Les Misérables'' at the Queen's Theatre ...

Michael Ball Michael Ashley Ball (born 27 June 1962) is an English singer, presenter and actor. In 1985, he made his West End debut as Marius Pontmercy in the original production of ''Les Misérables''. In 1989, he reached number two in the UK Singles C ...

— "

New York, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

" This week's episode was staged in the Tower Ballroom at the

Blackpool Tower Blackpool Tower is a tourist attraction in Blackpool, Lancashire, England, which was opened to the public on 14 May 1894. When it opened, Blackpool Tower was the tallest man-made structure in the British Empire. Inspired by the Eiffel Tower in P ...

Blackpool, Lancashire Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston. It is the main settlement in the borough of the same name. Blackpool wa ...

. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Debbie & Giovanni *Bussell: Debbie & Giovanni *Tonioli: Debbie & Giovanni *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Debbie & Giovanni''

Week 10

Musical guest:

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne (born Kelly Brianne Clarkson, April 24, 1982), known professionally as Kelly Clarkson, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Rising to fame after winning the American Idol season 1, first season of ''Ameri ...

— "

Meaning of Life The meaning of life is the concept of an individual's life, or existence in general, having an intrinsic value (ethics), inherent significance or a Meaning (philosophy), philosophical point. There is no consensus on the specifics of such a conce ...

" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Alexandra & Gorka *Bussell: Alexandra & Gorka *Tonioli: Alexandra & Gorka *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Alexandra & Gorka''

Week 11: Musicals Week (Quarter-final)

Musical guests:

Amber Riley Amber Patrice Riley (born February 15, 1986) sometimes known mononymously as Riley (stylized in all caps), is an American actress and singer. She is best known for her portrayal of Mercedes Jones on the Fox comedy-drama series ''Glee'' (2009 ...

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 ...

& Cassidy Janson — "

I'm Every Woman "I'm Every Woman" is a song by American singer Chaka Khan, released in September 1978 by Warner Bros. as her debut solo single from her first album, '' Chaka'' (1978). It was Khan's first hit outside her recordings with the funk band Rufus. "I'm ...

Week 12: Semi-final

Musical guests:

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is an English singer. He rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, to great commercial success. In to ...

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stormed by a ...

— " I Know You" Each couple performed two routines, and are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Gemma & Aljaž *Bussell: Gemma & Aljaž *Tonioli: Gemma & Aljaž *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Gemma & Aljaž''

Week 13: Final

Musical guest:

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

— "

Perfect Perfect commonly refers to: * Perfection; completeness, and excellence * Perfect (grammar), a grammatical category in some languages Perfect may also refer to: Film and television * ''Perfect'' (1985 film), a romantic drama * ''Perfect'' (20 ...

" Each couple performed three routines: one chosen by the judges, their favourite dance of the season, and their showdance routine. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Dance chart

*Week 1–9: One unlearned dance *Week 10: One unlearned dance & paso doble marathon *Week 11 (Quarter-final): One unlearned dance *Week 12 (Semi-final): Two unlearned dances *Week 13 (Final): Judges' choice, showdance & favourite dance of the series

Ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on

. All ratings are provided by BARB.

References

External links

* {{Strictly Come Dancing 2017 British television seasons

Series 15 Series may refer to: People with the name * Caroline Series (born 1951), English mathematician, daughter of George Series * George Series (1920–1995), English physicist Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Series, the ordered sets used in ...