# Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season 8

The eighth season of the Australian Dancing with the Stars debuted on 31 August 2008. Actor Daniel MacPherson replaced Daryl Somers as host, while Sonia Kruger returned as co-host. Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, and Mark Wilson returned as judges. Paul Mercurio did not return and was not replaced.
Home and Away actor Luke Jacobz and Luda Kroitor were announced as the winners on 9 November 2008, while boxer Danny Green and Natalie Lowe finished in second place, and AFL player Paul Licuria and Eliza Campagna finished in third.

## Couples

This season featured ten celebrity contestants.
| Celebrity | Notability | Professional partner | Status |
| Brooke Hanson | Olympic swimmer | John-Paul Collins | Eliminated 1st on 7 September 2008 |
| James Tobin | Television presenter | Jade Hatcher | Eliminated 2nd on 14 September 2008 |
| Cal Wilson | Comedian | Craig Monley | Eliminated 3rd on 21 September 2008 |
| Red Symons | Musician | Ana Andre | Eliminated 4th on 28 September 2008 |
| Jodi Gordon | Home and Away actress | Stefano Oliveri | Eliminated 5th on 12 October 2008 |
| Toni Pearen | Actress | Henry Byalikov | Eliminated 6th on 19 October 2008 |
| Charli Delaney | Hi-5 singer | Csaba Szirmai | Eliminated 7th on 2 November 2008 |
| Paul Licuria | AFL player | Eliza Campagna | Third place on 9 November 2008 |
| Danny Green | Boxer | Natalie Lowe | Runners-up on 9 November 2008 |
| Luke Jacobz | Home and Away actor | Luda Kroitor | Winners on 9 November 2008 |

## Scoring chart

The highest score each week is indicated in bold green with a dagger (†), while the lowest score each week is indicated in italicized red with a double-dagger (‡).
Color key:
Dancing with the Stars (season 8) - Weekly scores :
| Couple | Pl. | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Couple | Pl. | 1 | 2 | 1+2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| Luke & Luda | 1st | 24 | 29 | 53 | 20 | 25 | 26 | 23 | 23+23=46 | 25+24=49† | 28+26=54† | 29+26+30=85† |
| Danny & Natalie | 2nd | 28 | 32 | 60 | 24† | 20 | 24 | 19‡ | 17+25=42‡ | 20+25=45 | 24+29=53 | 23+22+26=71 |
| Paul & Eliza | 3rd | 29 | 31 | 60 | 23 | 23 | 27† | 28† | 22+30=52† | 20+23=43 | 25+25=50 | 30+24=54 |
| Charli & Csaba | 4th | 27 | 31 | 58 | 22 | 22 | 26 | 24 | 24+27=51 | 18+21=39‡ | 26+20=46‡ | |
| Toni & Henry | 5th | 35† | 31 | 66† | 23 | 28† | 24 | 24 | 25+18=43 | | | |
| Jodi & Stefano | 6th | 28 | 28 | 56 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 22 | | | | |
| Red & Ana | 7th | 19 | 17‡ | 36‡ | 14‡ | 19‡ | 21‡ | | | | | |
| Cal & Craig | 8th | 22 | 34† | 56 | 21 | 22 | | | | | | |
| James & Jade | 9th | 18‡ | 23 | 41 | 17 | | | | | | | |
| Brooke & John-Paul | 10th | 19 | 22 | 41 | | | | | | | | |

### Notes

* 1 2 The couples were scored on a 40-point scale due to the presence of a guest judge.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 This couple was in the bottom two, but was not eliminated.
* ↑ This couple finished in first place.
* ↑ This couple finished in second place.
* ↑ This couple finished in third place.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 This couple was eliminated.

## Weekly scores

Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Mark Wilson.

### Week 1

Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Mark Wilson, Bruno Tonioli.
Bruno Tonioli served as a guest judge.
Couples performed either the cha-cha-cha or the foxtrot. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music |
| Charli & Csaba | 27 (6, 7, 7, 7) | Cha-cha-cha | "Pictures" — Sneaky Sound System |
| James & Jade | 18 (4, 5, 5, 4) | Foxtrot | "Miss You" — Musiq Soulchild |
| Brooke & John-Paul | 19 (4, 5, 5, 5) | Cha-cha-cha | "Dancing in the Moonlight" — Toploader |
| Danny & Natalie | 28 (7, 7, 7, 7) | Foxtrot | "Feeling Good" — Michael Bublé |
| Cal & Craig | 22 (6, 6, 6, 4) | Cha-cha-cha | "Pump It Up" — Elvis Costello |
| Paul & Eliza | 29 (7, 8, 8, 6) | Foxtrot | "Dream Catch Me" — Newton Faulkner |
| Luke & Luda | 24 (5, 7, 6, 6) | Cha-cha-cha | "Don't Stop the Music" — Rihanna |
| Red & Ana | 19 (5, 5, 4, 5) | Foxtrot | "Theme from Get Smart" — Hugo Montenegro |
| Toni & Henry | 35 (9, 9, 9, 8) | Cha-cha-cha | "Mercy" — Duffy |
| Jodi & Stefano | 28 (6, 8, 8 ,6) | Foxtrot | "Two Hearts" — Kylie Minogue |

### Week 2

Individual judges scores in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Mark Wilson, Bruno Tonioli.
Bruno Tonioli served as a guest judge.
Couples performed either the jive or the tango. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Danny & Natalie | 32 (8, 8, 8, 8) | Jive | "Good Golly, Miss Molly" — Little Richard | Safe |
| Cal & Craig | 34 (9, 8, 8, 9) | Tango | "Mamma Mia" — ABBA | Safe |
| Jodi & Stefano | 28 (6, 8, 7, 7) | Jive | "The Girl Can't Help It" — Tommy Castro | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 29 (6, 7, 8, 8) | Tango | "Hey Sexy Lady" — Shaggy | Safe |
| James & Jade | 23 (5, 6, 6, 6) | Jive | "Ça plane pour moi" — Plastic Bertrand | Safe |
| Toni & Henry | 31 (8, 7, 8, 8) | Tango | "Toxic" — Britney Spears | Safe |
| Red & Ana | 17 (3, 5, 5, 4) | Jive | "Women in Uniform" — Skyhooks | Bottom two |
| Brooke & John-Paul | 22 (5, 6, 5, 6) | Tango | "Maneater" — Nelly Furtado | Eliminated |
| Paul & Eliza | 31 (7, 8, 8, 8) | Jive | "The Pretender" — Foo Fighters | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 31 (8, 8, 7, 8) | Tango | "My Love" — Justin Timberlake | Safe |

### Week 3

Couples performed either the samba or the waltz. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Toni & Henry | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Samba | "Work" — Kelly Rowland | Safe |
| Jodi & Stefano | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Waltz | "See the Day" — Girls Aloud | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 20 (6, 7, 7) | Samba | "I Don't Feel Like Dancin'" — Scissor Sisters | Bottom two |
| James & Jade | 17 (5, 6, 6) | Waltz | "Someday My Prince Will Come" — Barbra Streisand | Eliminated |
| Cal & Craig | 21 (7, 7, 7) | Samba | "What Is Love" — Haddaway | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Waltz | "Open Arms" — Journey | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 22 (7, 7, 8) | Samba | "Mas que Nada" — Black Eyed Peas, feat. Sérgio Mendes | Safe |
| Red & Ana | 14 (4, 5, 5) | Waltz | "Are You Lonesome Tonight?" — Elvis Presley | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 24 (7, 8, 9) | Waltz | "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" — Eva Cassidy | Safe |

### Week 4

Couples performed either the paso doble or the quickstep. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Charli & Csaba | 22 (6, 8, 8) | Quickstep | "Right Now" — Pussycat Dolls | Bottom two |
| Paul & Eliza | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Paso doble | "The Plaza of Execution" — from The Legend of Zorro & "Will and Elizabeth" — from Pirates of the Caribbean | Safe |
| Cal & Craig | 22 (7, 7, 8) | Quickstep | "I Want to Be Evil" — Eartha Kitt | Eliminated |
| Red & Ana | 19 (6, 6, 7) | Paso doble | "España cañí" — Salsamerica | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 25 (9, 8, 8) | Quickstep | "Wonderwall" — Paul Anka | Safe |
| Jodi & Stefano | 24 (7, 8, 9) | Paso doble | "Malagueña" — Connie Francis | Safe |
| Toni & Henry | 28 (9, 9, 10) | Quickstep | "Let's Go Crazy" — Prince | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 20 (6, 7, 7) | Paso doble | "The Final Countdown" — Europe | Safe |

### Week 5

Couples performed either the Argentine tango or the salsa. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Jodi & Stefano | 25 (8, 9, 8) | Argentine tango | "To Tango Tis Nefelis" — Haris Alexiou | Bottom two |
| Toni & Henry | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Salsa | "American Boy" — Estelle | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Argentine tango | "Tangoscuro" — Debayres | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 26 (8, 9, 9) | Salsa | "Low" — Flo Rida, feat. T-Pain | Safe |
| Red & Ana | 21 (7, 7, 7) | Argentine tango | "Época" — Gotan Project | Eliminated |
| Luke & Luda | 26 (8, 9, 9) | Salsa | "Bailamos" — Enrique Iglesias | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 27 (9, 9, 9) | Argentine tango | "Niebla Del Riachuelo" — Otros Aires | Safe |

### Week 6

Couples performed either the rumba or the West Coast Swing. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Luke & Luda | 23 (7, 8, 8) | West Coast Swing | "All Right Now" — Free | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 28 (10, 9, 9) | Rumba | "Secret Garden" — Bruce Springsteen | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 19 (5, 7, 7) | West Coast Swing | "A Little Less Conversation" — Elvis Presley vs. JXL | Bottom two |
| Jodi & Stefano | 22 (6, 8, 8) | Rumba | "Bleeding Love" — Leona Lewis | Eliminated |
| Toni & Henry | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Rumba | "No Air" — Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 24 (8, 8, 8) | West Coast Swing | "Don't Wanna Go to Bed Now" — Gabriella Cilmi | Safe |

### Week 7

Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Film | Result |
| Toni & Henry | 25 (9, 8, 8) | Jive | "Maniac" | Flashdance | Eliminated |
| Toni & Henry | 18 (5, 7, 6) | Foxtrot | "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" | Monty Python's Life of Brian | Eliminated |
| Luke & Luda | 23 (6, 9, 8) | Jive | "Greased Lightnin'" | Grease | Bottom two |
| Luke & Luda | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Paso doble | "Star Wars Theme" | Star Wars | Bottom two |
| Charli & Csaba | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Paso doble | "Scott & Fran's Paso Doble" | Strictly Ballroom | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 27 (9, 9, 9) | Rumba | "Colors of the Wind" | Pocahontas | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 22 (6, 8, 8) | West Coast Swing | "You Never Can Tell" | Pulp Fiction | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 30 (10, 10, 10) | Tango | "The Phantom of the Opera" | The Phantom of the Opera | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 17 (3, 7, 7) | Salsa | "My Way (A mi manera)" | Happy Feet | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 25 (8, 8, 9) | Rumba | "Stand by Me" | Stand by Me | Safe |

### Week 8

Each couple performed two routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Paul & Eliza | 20 (6, 7, 7) | Cha-cha-cha | "SexyBack" — Justin Timberlake | Safe |
| Paul & Eliza | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Salsa | "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" — Michael Jackson, feat. Akon | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 20 (6, 7, 7) | Cha-cha-cha | "Closer" — Ne-Yo | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 25 (9, 8, 8) | Quickstep | "Little Green Bag" — from Reservoir Dogs | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 18 (5, 7, 6) | Jive | "Yeh, Yeh" — Matt Bianco | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 21 (7, 7, 7) | Foxtrot | "1234" — Feist | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 25 (8, 9, 8) | Rumba | "Last Request" — Paolo Nutini | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Foxtrot | "Jump" — Van Halen | Safe |

### Week 9

Each couple performed two routines, one of which chosen by the judges and the other of which was a segue of three different dance styles. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Paul & Eliza | 25 (8, 9, 8) | Jive | "Travelin' Band" — Creedence Clearwater Revival | Bottom two |
| Paul & Eliza | 25 (8, 9 ,8) | Segue (Waltz, Rumba & Foxtrot) | "Take It to the Limit" — Eagles, "Falling into You" — Celine Dion & "Cheek to Cheek" — Doris Day | Bottom two |
| Danny & Natalie | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Foxtrot | "I've Got the World on a String"—Michael Bublé | Safe |
| Danny & Natalie | 29 (10, 9, 10) | Segue (Paso doble, Waltz & Jive) | "Don't Hold Back" — The Potbelleez, "Love Theme from Romeo and Juliet" — Henry Mancini & "You Can't Stop the Beat" — from Hairspray | Safe |
| Charli & Csaba | 26 (9, 9, 8) | Tango | "Santa Maria" — Gotan Project | Eliminated |
| Charli & Csaba | 20 (6, 7, 7) | Segue (Cha-cha-cha, Quickstep & Salsa) | "Kiss (Prince song)" — Prince, "Keep Young and Beautiful" — Annie Lennox & "Groove Is in the Heart" — Deee-Lite | Eliminated |
| Luke & Luda | 28 (9, 10, 9) | West Coast Swing | "Just a Gigolo" — Louis Prima | Safe |
| Luke & Luda | 26 (9, 9, 8) | Segue (Quickstep, Salsa & Tango) | "Do It Well" — Jennifer Lopez, "Desire" — U2 & "Peter Gunn" — Max Sedgley & Sarah Vaughan | Safe |

### Week 10

Each couple performed their favourite dance of the season and a group cha-cha-cha, after which the couple with the lowest combined score was eliminated, and then the remaining two couples performed their freestyle routines. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
| Couple | Order | Scores | Dance | Music | Result |
| Danny & Natalie | 1 | 23 (7, 8, 8) | Tango | "Eye of the Tiger" — Survivor | Runners-up |
| Danny & Natalie | 5 | 26 (9, 9, 8) | Freestyle | "Gonna Fly Now" — Bill Conti | Runners-up |
| Luke & Luda | 2 | 29 (10, 10, 9) | Waltz | "Come Away with Me" — Norah Jones | Winners |
| Luke & Luda | 6 | 30 (10, 10, 10) | Freestyle | "Boogie Wonderland" — from Happy Feet | Winners |
| Paul & Eliza | 3 | 30 (10, 10, 10) | Quickstep | "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" — Big Bad Voodoo Daddy | Third place |
| Danny & Natalie | 4 | 22 (8, 7, 7) | Group Cha-cha-cha | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl |
| Luke & Luda | 4 | 26 (8, 9, 9) | Group Cha-cha-cha | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl |
| Paul & Eliza | 4 | 24 (8, 8, 8) | Group Cha-cha-cha | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl | "In These Shoes" — Kirsty MacColl |

## Dance chart

* Week 1: Cha-cha-cha or foxtrot
* Week 2: Jive or tango
* Week 3: Samba or waltz
* Week 4: Paso doble or quickstep
* Week 5: Argentine Tango or salsa
* Week 6: Rumba or West Coast Swing
* Week 7: Two unlearned dances
* Week 8: Two unlearned dances
* Week 9: Judges' choice & a segue of three dance styles
* Week 10: Favourite dance of the season, cha-cha-cha showdown & freestyle
Dancing with the Stars (season 8) - Dance chart :
| Couple | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Couple | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Luke & Luda | Cha-cha-cha | Tango | Samba | Quickstep | Salsa | West Coast Swing | Jive | Paso doble | Rumba | Foxtrot | West Coast Swing | Segue | Waltz | Group Cha-cha-cha | Freestyle |
| Danny & Natalie | Foxtrot | Jive | Waltz | Paso doble | Argentine tango | West Coast Swing | Salsa | Rumba | Cha-cha-cha | Quickstep | Foxtrot | Segue | Tango | Group Cha-cha-cha | Freestyle |
| Paul & Eliza | Foxtrot | Jive | Waltz | Paso doble | Argentine tango | Rumba | West Coast Swing | Tango | Cha-cha-cha | Salsa | Jive | Segue | Quickstep | Group Cha-cha-cha | |
| Charli & Csaba | Cha-cha-cha | Tango | Samba | Quickstep | Salsa | West Coast Swing | Paso doble | Rumba | Jive | Foxtrot | Tango | Segue | | | |
| Toni & Henry | Cha-cha-cha | Tango | Samba | Quickstep | Salsa | Rumba | Jive | Foxtrot | | | | | | | |
| Jodi & Stefano | Foxtrot | Jive | Waltz | Paso doble | Argentine tango | Rumba | | | | | | | | | |
| Red & Ana | Foxtrot | Jive | Waltz | Paso doble | Argentine tango | | | | | | | | | | |
| Cal & Craig | Cha-cha-cha | Tango | Samba | Quickstep | | | | | | | | | | | |
| James & Jade | Foxtrot | Jive | Waltz | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Brooke & John-Paul | Cha-cha-cha | Tango | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Preceded byDancing with the Stars (Australian season 7) | Dancing with the Stars (Australian version) Season 8 | Succeeded byDancing with the Stars (Australian season 9) |

## Reception
### Viewership

| Episode | Episode | Original airdate | Viewers (in millions) | Rank (Night) |
| 1 | "Week One" | 31 August 2008 | 1.333 | #5 |
| 2 | "Week Two" | 7 September 2008 | 1.334 | #5 |
| 3 | "Week Three" | 14 September 2008 | 1.167 | #10 |
| 4 | "Week Four" | 21 September 2008 | 1.113 | #10 |
| 5 | "Week Five" | 28 September 2008 | 1.213 | #3 |
| 6 | "Week Six" | 12 October 2008 | 1.167 | #9 |
| 7 | "Week Seven" | 19 October 2008 | 1.255 | #4 |
| 8 | "Week Eight" | 26 October 2008 | 1.344 | #3 |
| 9 | "Week Nine" | 2 November 2008 | 1.384 | #1 |
| 10 | "Week Ten" | 9 November 2008 | 1.453 | #1 |