Series 15

## Series Chronology

Series 15 of *Strictly* commenced on 9th September 2017 with a launch show, followed by the main series, which started on 23rd September.

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as the show's presenters, and Zoe Ball returned to host *It Takes Two*. Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell and Bruno Tonioli all returned to the judging panel, and were joined by Shirley Ballas, who was announced on 9th May as the new Head Judge, following Len Goodman's departure.

15 celebrities competed in the series, with *Holby City* actor Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones being crowned the series Champions during the Final.

## Development

In a change to the series format, unlike previous series, there was no elimination during the Final. Instead, three couples were joint runners-up.

## Professionals

On 21st June 2017, the professional lineup was revealed, where Joanne Clifton, Natalie Lowe and Oksana Platero did not return for the new series. Replacing Clifton, Lowe and Platero were Amy Dowden, former Dancing With the Stars Australia professional Dianne Buswell, and Nadiya Bychkova.

For a second year in a row, Neil Jones and Chloe Hewitt were not partnered with a celebrity, though the participated in the professional dances and on *It Takes Two*.

## Couples

On August 7th, *The Saturdays* singer, Mollie King, was revealed as the first celebrity competing in the series, with the rest of the celebrities revealed regularly throughout the month. As before, the full celebrity lineup was completed on *The One Show* on 21st August.

## Scoring Chart

*Red numbers*  indicate the couples with the lowest score for each week.
Green numbers  indicate the couples with the highest score for each week.
"-" indicates the couple(s) that did not dance that week.
     indicates the couple that was eliminated that week.
     indicates the couple who was in the bottom two but was not eliminated.
     indicates the couple withdrew from the competition that week.
     indicates the winning couple.
     indicates the runner-up couple.
     indicates the third place couple.
### Average Chart

*This table only counts dances scored on a 40-point scale (where the scores in Week 5 are weighted to work on the same scale, and additional points from the Paso Doble-then in Week 10 are not included).*

## Dance Scoring

### Highest and Lowest Scoring Performances

* The best and worst performances in each dance style, according to the judges' 40-point scale. *Scores from Week 5 were adjusted to show a score out of 40.*

### Couples' Highest and Lowest Scoring Dances

*The highest and lowest performances of each couple during the series. Scores cast in Week 5, when there were only three judges, have been adjusted to show a score out of 40.*

## Weekly Scores

*Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Shirley Ballas, Bruno Tonioli.*

### Launch Show

* *Featuring musical guests, Shania Twain, with a performance of her song, "Life's About to Get Good", and Rita Ora, with a performance of her song, "Lonely Together".*
* The show featured a tribute by the professionals to former presenter Sir Bruce Forsyth, who died just weeks before the show began.

### Week 2

* *Featuring musical guest, Emeli Sandé, with a performance of her song "Starlight".*

**Dance Off:** Chizzy & Pasha, Brian & Amy

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Chizzy & Pasha
* Bussell: Brian & Amy
* Tonioli: Brian & Amy
* Ballas: Brian & Amy

**Eliminated Couple**: Chizzy & Pasha

### Week 3: Movie Week

* *Featuring musical guest, Sheridan Smith, with a performance of "My Man".*

**Dance Off:** Simon & Karen, Rev. Richard & Dianne

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Simon & Karen
* Bussell: Simon & Karen
* Tonioli: Simon & Karen
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Simon & Karen.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Rev. Richard & Dianne

### Week 4

* *Featuring musical guest, Gregory Porter, with a performance of "Smile".*

**Dance Off:** Davood & Nadiya, Charlotte & Brendan

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Davood & Nadiya
* Bussell: Davood & Nadiya
* Tonioli: Davood & Nadiya
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Davood & Nadiya.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Charlotte & Brendan

### Week 5

*Individual judges scores given in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Shirley Ballas.*

* Tonioli was absent this week due to a scheduling conflict with the American version, *Dancing With the Stars*, but was not replaced by a guest judge. In his absence, the maximum overall score that could be given this week was 30.
* *Featuring musical guest band, The Script, with a performance of "Arms Open".*

**Dance Off:** Simon & Karen, Brian & Amy

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Simon & Karen
* Bussell: Simon & Karen
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Simon & Karen.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Brian & Amy

### Week 6: Halloween Week

* *Featuring musical guest band, Steps, with a performance of their song, "Scared of the Dark".*

**Dance Off:** Simon & Karen, Mollie & AJ

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Mollie & AJ
* Bussell: Mollie & AJ
* Tonioli: Mollie & AJ
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Mollie & AJ.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Simon & Karen

### Week 7

* *Featuring musical guest band, Stereophonics, with a performance of "Caught by the Wind".*

**Dance Off:** Mollie & AJ, Aston & Janette

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Mollie & AJ
* Bussell: Aston & Janette
* Tonioli: Aston & Janette
* Ballas: Mollie & AJ

**Eliminated Couple**: Aston & Janette

### Week 8

* *Featuring musical guest, Seal, with a performance of "Autumn Leaves".*

**Dance Off:** Ruth & Anton, Jonnie & Oti

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Jonnie & Oti
* Bussell: Jonnie & Oti
* Tonioli: Jonnie & Oti
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Jonnie & Oti.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Ruth & Anton

### Week 9: Blackpool Week

* *Featuring musical guests, Tears for Fears, with a performance of their song, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", and Alfie Boe & Michael Ball, with a performance of "New York, New York".*

**Dance Off:** Debbie & Giovanni, Jonnie & Oti

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Debbie & Giovanni
* Bussell: Debbie & Giovanni
* Tonioli: Debbie & Giovanni
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Debbie & Giovanni.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Jonnie & Oti

### Week 10

* *Featuring musical guest, Kelly Clarkson, with a performance of her song, "Meaning of Life".*

**Dance Off:** Alexandra & Gorka, Susan & Kevin

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Alexandra & Gorka
* Bussell: Alexandra & Gorka
* Tonioli: Alexandra & Gorka
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Alexandra & Gorka.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Susan & Kevin

### Week 11: Musicals Week (Quarter-Final)

* *Featuring musical guests, Leading Ladies (Amber Riley, Beverley Knight, Cassidy Janson), with a performance of "I'm Every Woman".*

**Dance Off:** Davood & Nadiya, Alexandra & Gorka

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Alexandra & Gorka
* Bussell: Alexandra & Gorka
* Tonioli: Alexandra & Gorka
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Alexandra & Gorka.*

**Eliminated Couple**: Davood & Nadiya

### Week 12: Semi-Final

* *Featuring musical guests, Craig David and Bastille, with a performance of their song, "I Know You".*

**Dance Off:** Mollie & AJ, Gemma & Aljaž

* *Due to performing two dances on Saturday night, the two couples chose one of their routines to perform again in the Dance Off; Mollie & AJ chose their Waltz routine, and Gemma & Aljaž chose their Tango routine.*

*Judges' votes to save: (in event of tie, Ballas, as Head Judge, has deciding vote)*

* Horwood: Gemma & Aljaž
* Bussell: Gemma & Aljaž
* Tonioli: Gemma & Aljaž
* Ballas: *did not vote, but would have saved Gemma & Aljaž*

**Eliminated Couple**: Mollie & AJ

### Week 13: Final

* *Featuring musical guest, Ed Sheeran, with a performance of his song, "Perfect"*

**Strictly Champions**: Joe & Katya