# Nadiya Bychkova

Nadiya Bychkova (Ukrainian: Надія Бичкова; born 24 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and 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, she joined the British television show Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer. She holds two Guinness World Records at Strictly's Pro Challenge for the most dance steps in 30 seconds - for fleckerls in 2020 and pat-a-cakes in 2021.

## Strictly Come Dancing

In 2017, Bychkova appeared as a professional dancer in the fifteenth series of the British television dance show Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with EastEnders actor Davood Ghadami. They reached the quarter final of the competition, finishing in sixth place.
She returned for her second series in 2018, partnered with another 'former' EastEnders actor and Blue singer Lee Ryan. The couple were eliminated in week three.
Bychkova returned for her third series in 2019 and was partnered with ex-professional footballer David James. They were the fourth couple to be eliminated.
In 2021, Bychkova was paired with television journalist, BBC Breakfast, The NFL Show and former Football Focus presenter Dan Walker, some 10 inches (25 cm) taller.
In 2022, Bychkova was paired with singer, Matt Goss. They were the third couple to be eliminated. In 2023, Bychkova returned to the series but had no celebrity partner.
In 2024, Bychkova was paired with Olympic swimmer Tom Dean. They were the first couple to be eliminated after losing the first dance-off to Toyah Willcox and Neil Jones.
She had previously been a professional dancer on the Bosnian version of the show.
| Series | Partner | Place | Average Score |
| 15 | Davood Ghadami | 6th | 30.4 |
| 16 | Lee Ryan | 14th | 22.3 |
| 17 | David James | 12th | 17.4 |
| 19 | Dan Walker | 5th | 27.5 |
| 20 | Matt Goss | 13th | 20.8 |
| 22 | Tom Dean | 15th | 21.5 |
Highest and Lowest scoring per dance
| Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
| American Smooth | Davood Ghadami | 35 | David James | 16 |
| Argentine Tango | Davood Ghadami | 29 | | |
| Cha-Cha-Cha | Davood Ghadami | 27 | Lee Ryan | 19 |
| Charleston | Davood Ghadami | 38 | Dan Walker | 31 |
| Couple's Choice | Dan Walker | 28 | | |
| Foxtrot | Dan Walker | 21 | David James | 17 |
| Jive | Davood Ghadami | 29 | David James | 16 |
| Paso Doble | Davood Ghadami | 35 | David James | 10 |
| Quickstep | David James | 28 | Matt Goss | 20 |
| Rumba | Dan Walker | 31 | Davood Ghadami | 25 |
| Salsa | | | | |
| Samba | Davood Ghadami | 25 | Matt Goss | 22 |
| Something-A-Thon | Davood Ghadami | 4 | | |
| Showdance | | | | |
| Tango | Dan Walker | 31 | Tom Dean | 23 |
| Viennese Waltz | Davood Ghadami | 29 | Matt Goss | 21 |
| Waltz | Davood Ghadami | 35 | Lee Ryan | 22 |

### Series 15 (2017): with celebrity partner Davood Ghadami

| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | Total | Result |
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "Dedication to My Ex (Miss That)" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Quickstep / "Last Nite" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 3 | Samba / "Stayin' Alive" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 25 | Safe |
| 4 | Viennese Waltz / "Say You Love Me" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 29 | Bottom two |
| 5 | Jive / "Tell Her About It" | 6 | 8 | 8 | – | 22 | Safe |
| 6 | Rumba / "Wicked Game" | 5 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 25 | Safe |
| 7 | American Smooth / "This Will Be (An Everlasting Love)" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 8 | Charleston / "The Lambeth Walk" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | Safe |
| 9 | Paso Doble / "Live and Let Die" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
| 10 | Waltz / "With You I'm Born Again" Paso Doble-a-thon / "España cañí" | 8 4 | 9 extra | 9 points | 9 awarded | 35 39 | Safe |
| 11 | Argentine Tango / "The Phantom of the Opera" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 | Eliminated |
   * Green numbers indicate Davood & Nadiya were at the top of the leaderboard.
   * Red numbers indicate Davood & Nadiya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

### Series 16 (2018): with celebrity partner Lee Ryan

| Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week No. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | Total | Result |
| 1 | Waltz / "Take It To The Limit" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 22 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Jive / "Blue Suede Shoes" | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Bottom Two |
| 3 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "The Power of Love" | 3 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 19 | Eliminated |
   * Red numbers indicate Lee & Nadiya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

### Series 17 (2019): with celebrity partner David James

| Week N. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week N. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Tonioli/Ribeiro | Total | Result |
| 1 | Foxtrot / "Three Lions" | 3 | 4 | 5 | 5 | 17 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "España cañí" | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 10 | Bottom Two |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Kiss from a Rose" | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 16 | Bottom Two |
| 4 | Quickstep / "From Now On | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Safe |
| 5 | Jive / "Such a Night" | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 16 | Eliminated |
   * Red numbers indicate David & Nadiya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

### Series 19 (2021): with celebrity partner Dan Walker

| Week N. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week N. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Quickstep / "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 24 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Paso Doble / "Giant" | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 3 | Foxtrot / "Once Upon a Dream" | 3 | 5 | 7 | 6 | 21 | Safe |
| 4 | Cha-cha-cha / "U Can't Touch This/Super Freak | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
| 5 | Viennese Waltz / "She's Always a Woman" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 6 | Jive / "Rock Lobster" | 5 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 27 | Safe |
| 7 | Couple's Choice / "Classic" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 28 | Safe |
| 8 | American Smooth / "King of the Road" | 4 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 29 | Safe |
| 9 | Charleston / "Good Morning" | 7* | 7 | 9 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 10 | Rumba / "Desperado" | 6 | 9* | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
| 11 | Tango / "Santa María (del Buen Ayre)" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 31 | Eliminated |
   * Red numbers indicate Dan & Nadiya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.
* (*) Score awarded by guest judge Cynthia Erivo.

### Series 20 (2022): with celebrity partner Matt Goss

| Week N. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week N. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Quickstep / "Sir Duke" | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 20 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Samba / "Night Fever" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 22 | Bottom two |
| 3 | Viennese Waltz / "Hold My Hand" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
| 4 | Jive / "All Shook Up" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated |
   * Red numbers indicate Matt & Nadiya were at the bottom of the leaderboard.

### Series 22 (2024): with celebrity partner Tom Dean

| Week N. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Judges' score | Total | Result |
| Week N. | Dance/Song | Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | Total | Result |
| 1 | Tango / "Golden" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 23 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Cha-cha-cha / "Boogie Wonderland" | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 20 | Eliminated |

## Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special

She danced with Larry Lamb for the 2022 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. She danced with Dan Snow for the 2023 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special. She danced with Billy Monger for the 2024 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.

## Personal life

In 2013, Bychkova married Russian dancer Sergey Konovaltsev; the marriage lasted two years. Bychkova was later engaged to Slovenian footballer Matija Skarabot, with whom she has a daughter named Mila.
In April 2015, Bychkova featured in the Ukrainian edition of Playboy magazine; she was also on the cover of FHM in March 2012.
In an appearance on Saturday Mash-Up! in January 2022, Bychkova was 'Super Slimed' with 20 buckets of gunge, after receiving 63% of a viewer vote against Dan Walker and Kai Widdrington. Also in January 2022, she announced that she and Matija were no longer a couple and had been living apart for a while. In June 2022, she confirmed she was in a relationship with Strictly co-star Kai Widdrington, although they are reportedly no longer together as of July 2024.

## Dance tours

In September 2024, Bychkova and Kai Widdrington announced they were to appear at "Dancing With The Stars Weekends" 2025.