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 sixth series on 20 September 2008 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 ...

Bruce Forsyth Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson (22 February 1928 – 18 August 2017) was an English entertainer and television presenter whose career spanned more than 75 years. Forsyth came to national attention from the late 1950s through the Associated Te ...

and

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 ...

returned as co-presenters of the main show on BBC One, while

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 to present the spin-off show '' 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 ...

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 ...

Arlene Phillips Dame Arlene Phillips (born 22 May 1943) is an English choreographer, theatre director, talent scout, former television judge, presenter, and dancer. She reached mainstream fame on television as a judge on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' (2004-2008) a ...

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. The show featured sixteen celebrities paired with sixteen professional dancers. The new professionals were

Brian Fortuna Brian Fortuna (born September 20, 1982) is an American professional ballroom dancer, choreographer and Teacher, instructor. Biography Brian Fortuna known as Fish is currently starring in Theatre Production's Limited ''Over the Rainbow'' as Dann ...

and

Hayley Holt Hayley Doreen Holt (born 3 July 1980) is a New Zealand television presenter and former snowboarder and ballroom dancer, who presents sports news on 1 News At 6pm. She co-presented TVNZ ''Breakfast'' from 2018 to 2020 alongside Jack Tame and la ...

, who had previously appeared in the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

and New Zealand versions of the show respectively, and Russian dancer

Kristina Rihanoff Kristina Rihanoff (,: Kristina Pshenichnykh; born 22 September 1977) is a Russian professional ballroom dancer. Early life The daughter of two engineers, Rihanoff was born and grew up in Vladivostok, Russia, and started taking dance lessons ...

, who had taken part in the ''

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) ...

'' tour.

Nicole Cutler Nicole Cutler (née Westdyk; born 8 June 1972) is a professional ballroom dancer and former World Amateur Latin-American champion. She was born Nicole Westdyk in Durban, South Africa and after taking up ballet at the age of four, first tried out b ...

was the only professional from the previous series not to return. On 20 December 2008, actor Tom Chambers and

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 ...

were announced as the winners, while

S Club 7 S Club, formerly known as S Club 7, are a British pop group formed in 1998 by Simon Fuller after he was fired as manager of the Spice Girls. Original members were Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara, Ha ...

singer

Rachel Stevens Rachel Lauren Stevens (born 9 April 1978) is an English singer and actress. She has been a member of the pop group S Club, which was active from 1998 to 2003, and has reformed once again since 2023. She released her solo debut studio album ''F ...

and

Vincent Simone Vincent Simone (born 15 March 1979) is an Italian professional dancer, who appeared on ''Strictly Come Dancing'' from 2006 until 2012. He moved to Guildford, Surrey, United Kingdom when he was 17. Simone and his professional partner Flavia Caca ...

finished in second place, and television presenter

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

and

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 ...

finished in third.

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. However, the situation was different on 13 December 2008, when it was announced on the live results show that all three couples would be going through to the finale, regardless of the judges' scores and the public vote. This was due to a tie at the top of the leaderboard, which made it mathematically impossible for Tom Chambers and

to avoid the dance-off. Despite this, viewers were encouraged to vote. All phone votes cast were carried on to the finale.

Couples

This series featured sixteen celebrity contestants.

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

Musical guest:

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

— "

Wind Beneath My Wings "Wind Beneath My Wings" (sometimes titled "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "Hero") is a song written in 1982 by Americans Jeff Silbar and Larry Henley. The song was first recorded by Australian singer Kamahl in 1982 for a country and western albu ...

" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the cha-cha-cha or the

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 ...

. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group cha-cha-cha that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ; Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Phil & Flavia *Phillips: Phil & Flavia *Tonioli: Don & Lilia *Goodman: Don & Lilia ''(Since the other judges were not unanimous, Len Goodman, as head judge, made the final decision to save Don & Lilia)''

Week 2

Musical guest:

Sugababes The Sugababes are an English girl group composed of Mutya Buena, Keisha Buchanan, and Siobhán Donaghy. The lineup changed three times before returning to the original lineup in 2011. Formed in 1998 by Ron Tom, the manager of All Saints, ...

— "

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. While the term ''girl'' has other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.com, "Girl"'' Retrieved January 2, 2008. ''daughter'' or ''girlfriend'' regardless of age, ...

" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the

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 ...

or the

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (food), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: Arts and ent ...

. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group merengue that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Jodie & Ian *Phillips: Jodie & Ian *Toniolil: Jodie & Ian *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jodie & Ian''

Week 3

Musical guest:

Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli (; born 22 September 1958) is an Italian tenor. He rose to fame in 1994 after winning the newcomers' section of the 44th Sanremo Music Festival performing " Il mare calmo della sera". Since 1994, Bocelli has recorded 15 solo st ...

— " Canto della Terra" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the jive or the

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 ...

. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group

swing dance Swing dance is a group of social dances that developed with the swing style of jazz music in the 1920s–1940s, with the origins of each dance predating the popular " swing era". Hundreds of styles of swing dancing were developed; those that h ...

that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Mark & Hayley *Phillips: Mark & Hayley *Tonioli: Mark & Hayley *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Mark & Hayley''

Week 4

Musical guest:

Simply Red Simply Red are an English soul music, soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. Band leader, singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall was the only original member left by the time Simply Red initially disbanded in 2010. They have released thir ...

— "

Something Got Me Started "Something Got Me Started" is a song by British soul and pop band Simply Red, released in September 1991 by East West Records as the first single from their fourth album, ''Stars'' (1991). It was released in several forms: a 7-inch single, a 1 ...

" Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the

quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted dance of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal ...

or the

rumba The term rumba may refer to a variety of unrelated music styles. Originally, "rumba" was used as a synonym for "party" in northern Cuba, and by the late 19th century it was used to denote the complex of secular music styles known as Cuban rumba ...

. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group rueda that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Heather & Brian *Phillips: Heather & Brian *Tonioli: Heather & Brian *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jessie & Darren''

Week 5

Musical guests: *

Alesha Dixon Alesha Anjanette Dixon (born 7 October 1978) is an English singer, rapper, dancer, television personality, and author. She rose to prominence in the early 2000s as a member of the R&B / UK Garage group Mis-Teeq, who had seven UK top 10 hits, ...

— " The Boy Does Nothing" *

Katherine Jenkins Katherine Jenkins (born 29 June 1980) is a Welsh singer. She is a mezzo-soprano and performs operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre, and hymns.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 ...

— "Viva Tonight" Couples performed either the

American Smooth This is a list of dance terms that are not names of dances or types of dances. See List of dances and List of dance style categories for those. This glossary lists terms used in various types of ballroom partner dances, leaving out terms of hig ...

or the

samba Samba () is a broad term for many of the rhythms that compose the better known Brazilian music genres that originated in the Afro-Brazilians, Afro Brazilian communities of Bahia in the late 19th century and early 20th century, It is a name or ...

, and are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Heather & Brian *Phillips: Heather & Brian *Tonioli: Heather & Brian *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Don & Lilia''

Week 6

Musical guest:

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican label Fonovisa where he released three Spanish albums ''Enrique Iglesias (album), Enrique ...

— "

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

" Couples performed either the

paso doble Pasodoble (Spanish language, 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 wa ...

or the

Viennese waltz Viennese waltz () is a genre of ballroom dance. At least four different meanings are recognized. In the historically first sense, the name may refer to several versions of the waltz, including the earliest waltzes done in ballroom dancing, dance ...

, and are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Andrew & Ola *Phillips: Andrew & Ola *Tonioli: Andrew & Ola *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Andrew & Ola''

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 ...

— " Handbags and Gladrags" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Heather & Brian *Phillips: Heather & Brian *Tonioli: Heather & Brian *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Heather & Brian''

Week 8

Musical guest: Beyonce — " If I Were a Boy" Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Rachel & Vincent *Phillips: Rachel & Vincent *Tonioli: Rachel & Vincent *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Rachel & Vincent''

Week 9

Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Lisa & Brendan *Phillips: Lisa & Brendan *Tonioli: Cherie & James *Goodman: Lisa & Brendan

Week 10

John Sergeant withdrew from the competition earlier in the week, but he and

still performed their waltz, although it was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Lisa & Brendan *Phillips: Lisa & Brendan *Tonioli: Lisa & Brendan *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Lisa & Brendan''

Week 11

Musical guest: Estelle — "

American Boy "American Boy” is a song by British singer Estelle (musician), Estelle featuring rapper Kanye West from the former's second album ''Shine (Estelle album), Shine'' (2008). The song was written by the artists, alongside Ethan Hendrickson, John ...

" Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Rachel & Vincent *Phillips: Rachel & Vincent *Tonioli: Rachel & Vincent *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Rachel & Vincent''

Week 12: Quarterfinal

Musical guest:

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

— " Copacabana" Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed. ;Judges' votes to save *Horwood: Lisa & Brendan *Phillips: Lisa & Brendan *Tonioli: Lisa & Brendan *Goodman: ''Did not vote, but would have voted to save Lisa & Brendan''

Week 13: Semifinal

Musical guests: Cast of ''

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

'' — " All That Jazz" Each couple performed two routines, one of which was the

Argentine tango Argentine tango is a musical genre and accompanying social dance originating at the end of the 19th century in the suburbs of Buenos Aires. It typically has a Time signature, or rhythmic time signature, and two or three parts repeating in pat ...

. There was no elimination at the end of the night due to an issue with the scoring system discovered after the show. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Week 14: Final

Musical guest: Duffy — "

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

" Each couple performed their favourite ballroom dance, their favourite Latin dance, and their showdance routine. Couples are listed in the order they performed.

Dance chart

The couples performed the following each week: *Week 1: One unlearned dance (cha-cha-cha or waltz); group cha-cha-cha *Week 2: One unlearned dance (foxtrot or salsa); group merengue *Week 3: One unlearned dance (jive or tango); group swing dance *Week 4: One unlearned dance (quickstep or rumba); group rueda *Week 5: One unlearned dance (American Smooth or samba) *Week 6: One unlearned dance (paso doble or Viennese waltz) *Weeks 7–10: One unlearned dance *Weeks 11–12: Two unlearned dances *Week 13 (Semifinal): Argentine tango & one re-choreographed routine *Week 14 (Final): Favourite ballroom dance, favourite Latin dance & showdance ;Notes

Ratings

Weekly ratings for each show on

. All ratings are provided by

BARB Barb or the BARBs or ''variation'' may refer to: People * Barb (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname * Barb, a term used by fans of Nicki Minaj to refer to themselves * The Barbs, a band Places * Barb, ...

References

External links

*
''Strictly Come Dancing news, gossip, reviews''
at Unreality TV {{Strictly Come Dancing Season 06 2008 British television seasons