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 sixteenth series with a launch show on 8 September 2018 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 the first live show on 22 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 ...

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 ...

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 20 October, actor

Alfonso Ribeiro Alfonso Ribeiro (born September 21, 1971) is an American actor, comedian, singer, and television host. He is best known for his roles as Carlton Banks on the NBC sitcom '' The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'', Alfonso Spears on the sitcom ''Silver Spoo ...

stood in as a guest judge to cover for Tonioli. In this series, three new dance styles were introduced —

contemporary Contemporary history, in English-language historiography, is a subset of modern history that describes the historical period from about 1945 to the present. In the social sciences, contemporary history is also continuous with, and related t ...

, theatre/jazz, and street/commercial — as part of a new category called "couple's choice".

Stacey Dooley Stacey Jaclyn Dooley (born 9 March 1987) is an English television presenter, journalist, and media personality. She came to prominence in 2008 as a participant on the documentary series '' Blood, Sweat and T-shirts''. Since then, she has made ...

and

Kevin Clifton Kevin James Clifton (born 13 October 1982) is an English professional dancer and actor, who was a professional dancer on the BBC TV series ''Strictly Come Dancing'', having previously worked as an assistant choreographer. He has also featured on ...

were announced as the winners on 15 December 2018, while

Joe Sugg Joseph Graham Sugg (born 8 September 1991) is an English YouTuber. In 2012, he began posting videos on the YouTube channel ThatcherJoe, currently at 7.27 million subscribers and 1.33 billion overall channel views. In 2018, he was a finalist on t ...

and

Diane Buswell Dianne Claire Buswell (born 6 May 1989) is an Australian professional dancer who is best known for her appearances on the British television show ''Strictly Come Dancing''. After competing on ''Dancing with the Stars'' in Australia, she joined t ...

Faye Tozer Faye Louise Tozer Smith (born 14 November 1975) is an English singer and actress, best known as a member of the pop group Steps. Career Music Steps are a pop group that have had a series of charted singles between 1997 and 2020. Their name ...

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

Ashley Roberts Ashley Allyn Roberts (born September 14, 1981) is an American born, British based singer, dancer, and media personality. She was a member of the girl group The Pussycat Dolls (2003–2010, 2019–2021), who sold over 55 million records worldwide ...

and

Pasha Kovalev Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev (; born 19 January 1980) is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer. Kovalev started dancing at the age of eight, and in 2000, moved to the United States with his professional dance partner Anya Garnis. In 2007, t ...

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 30 May 2018, the list of professionals returning for the sixteenth series was revealed. Professionals from the last series who did not return included

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 ...

and

Chloe Hewitt ''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 and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of judges. ...

Graziano Di Prima Graziano Di Prima (born 7 May 1994) is an Italian dancer and choreography (dance), choreographer. Between 2018 and 2023, Di Prima was a professional dancer on the BBC's ''Strictly Come Dancing''. Career Di Prima was born in Sicily. He toured wi ...

, Luba Mushtuk, and Johannes Radebe replaced them. Mushtuk and Radebe did not have celebrity partners; however, Di Prima did.

Couples

This series featured fifteen celebrity contestants. On 13 August 2018, the first three celebrities announced to be participating in the series were

Katie Piper Kate Elizabeth Sutton (née Piper; born 12 October 1983) is an English writer, activist, television presenter and model from Andover, Hampshire. In March 2008, her ex-boyfriend raped her and stabbed her several times in the arms. Two days late ...

, and

Danny John-Jules Daniel John-Jules (born 16 September 1960) is a British actor, singer and dancer. He is best known for playing Cat (Red Dwarf), Cat in the sci-fi comedy series ''Red Dwarf'', Barrington in the comic children's series ''Maid Marian and Her Merry M ...

. Celebrity reveals continued across that month before concluding on 21 August on '' Good Morning Britain''.

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:

''.

Week 1

Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 2

Musical guest:

George Ezra George Ezra Barnett (born 7 June 1993) is an English musician. After releasing two EPs, '' Did You Hear the Rain?'' (2013) and '' Cassy O (2014), Ezra rose to prominence with the release of his hit single "Budapest", which reached number one ...

— "

Shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, peppergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which discharges numerous small ...

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

Week 3: Movie Week

Musical guest:

Gladys Knight Gladys Maria Knight (born May 28, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Knight recorded hits through the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s with her family group Gladys Knight & the Pips, which included her brother Merald "Bubba" Knight and cousins Will ...

— "

Licence to Kill ''Licence to Kill'' is a 1989 spy film, the sixteenth in the List of James Bond films, ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the second and final film to star Timothy Dalton as the MI6 agent James Bond (literary character), J ...

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

Week 4

Musical guests:

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

— " Larger than Life", "

I Want It That Way "I Want It That Way" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys. It was released on April 12, 1999, as the lead single from their third studio album, ''Millennium''. It was written by Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson, while Martin and Kris ...

" & "

Everybody (Backstreet's Back) "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" is a song by American boy band Backstreet Boys, written and produced by Denniz Pop and Max Martin. It was released as the first single from the band's second international studio album '' Backstreet's Back'' in ...

Week 5

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

''. Musical guest:

Paloma Faith Paloma Faith Blomfield (born 21 July 1981) is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. After signing with Epic Records in 2008, Faith released her debut album, '' Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?'' (2009), which produced the UK ...

— "Loyal" Actor

filled in as a guest judge while

was unavailable while filming for ''Dancing with the Stars''. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Vick & Graziano *Bussell: Seann & Katya *Ribeiro: Seann & Katya *Ballas: Seann & Katya

Week 6: Halloween Week

Musical guest:

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 ...

— "

Let You Love Me "Let You Love Me" is a song by British singer Rita Ora from her second studio album, '' Phoenix'' (2018). The song was written by Ora, Ilsey Juber, Noonie Bao, Linus Wiklund, Fred Gibson and Finn Keane, and produced by the last two. It was rel ...

" ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Graeme & Oti *Bussell: Graeme & Oti *Tonioli: Graeme & Oti *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Graeme & Oti''

Week 7

Musical guests: *The Kingdom Choir —

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

medley *

Jess Glynne Jessica Hannah Glynne (born 20 October 1989) is a British singer. She rose to prominence in 2014 as a featured artist on the singles " Rather Be" by Clean Bandit and " My Love" by Route 94, both of which reached number one on the UK Singles C ...

— "Thursday" ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Dr. Ranj & Janette *Bussell: Charles & Karen *Tonioli: Charles & Karen *Ballas: Charles & Karen

Week 8

Musical guests: *RAF Spitfires Choir — " Rise Up" *

Andrea Andrea is a given name which is common worldwide for both males and females, cognate to Andreas, Andrej and Andrew. Origin of the name The name derives from the Greek word ἀνήρ (''anēr''), genitive ἀνδρός (''andrós''), that re ...

& Matteo Bocelli — " Fall on Me" ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Danny & Amy *Bussell: Graeme & Oti *Tonioli: Graeme & Oti *Ballas: Graeme & Oti

Week 9: Blackpool Week

Musical guests: *

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

— " Dr. Beat", "

Conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

", "

Rhythm Is Gonna Get You "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" is a song written by Enrique "Kiki" Garcia and Gloria Estefan, and released by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine in 1987 as the lead single from their tenth studio album, '' Let It Loose'' (1987) (reissued internat ...

", " 1–2–3" & " Get on Your Feet" *

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead singer ...

— "Out of Our Heads" 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 ...

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

Week 10: ''Lindy Hop Marathon'' Week

Musical guest:

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British singer and songwriter. Known for his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time, having sold ...

— "Farewell" Each couple performed one routine and then all couples participated in a

Lindy Hop The Lindy Hop is an American dance which was born in the African-American communities of Harlem, New York City, in 1928 and has evolved since then. It was very popular during the swing era of the late 1930s and early 1940s. Lindy is a fusion of ...

marathon for additional points. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Ashley & Pasha *Bussell: Ashley & Pasha *Tonioli: Ashley & Pasha *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ashley & Pasha''

Week 11: Musicals Week (Quarter-final)

Musical guests: *Trevor Dion Nicholas — "

The Rhythm of Life ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

" ''(from

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields, and book by Neil Simon, based on the screenplay for the 1957 Italian film '' Nights of Cabiria''. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse sta ...

)'' *

Adam Lambert Adam Mitchel Lambert (born January 29, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known for his dynamic vocal performances that combine his theatrical training with modern and classic genres. Lambert rose to fame in 2009 after ...

— "

We Are the Champions "We Are the Champions" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released from the band's sixth album ''News of the World'' (1977). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems.

" ''(from

We Will Rock You "We Will Rock You" is a song by the British rock band Queen from their 1977 album '' News of the World'', written by guitarist Brian May. ''Rolling Stone'' ranked it number 330 of " The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" in 2004, and the RIAA it p ...

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

Week 12: Semi-final

Musical guests:

Little Mix Little Mix are an English girl group that formed on the eighth series of ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor.'' They are the first group and the only girl group to win the original UK series. The lineup consisted of Leigh-Anne Pin ...

— " Woman Like Me" Each couple performed two routines, and are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Revel Horwood: Ashley & Pasha *Bussell: Ashley & Pasha *Tonioli: Ashley & Pasha *Ballas: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Ashley & Pasha''

Week 13: Final

Musical guest:

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 ...

— "

Such a Night "Such a Night" is a popular song from 1953, written by Lincoln Chase and originally recorded by the Drifters. The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter recorded the song in November 1953, and Atlantic Records released it in January 1954 as t ...

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

Dance chart

The couples performed the following each week: *Weeks 1–9: One unlearned dance *Week 10: One unlearned dance & Lindy Hop 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

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strictly Come Dancing (series 16) 2018 British television seasons Series 16