Series 8

## Series Chronology

The eighth series of *Strictly Come Dancing* commenced with a red carpet-style launch show on 11th September, ahead of the official competition starting on 1st October. 14 celebrities competed in the series.

Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returned to present the show, however Forsyth no longer presented the results show, and thus Daly was joined by *It Takes Two* presenter, Claudia Winkleman.

Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Alesha Dixon all returned as judges.

## Development

The professional lineup changed, with Matthew Cutler, Brian Fortuna, Ian Waite, Darren Bennett and Lilia Kopylova all left the show following the end of Series 7. Three male professionals joined the professional lineup; Artem Chigvintsev, Robin Windsor and Jared Murillo.

The show's set was revamped ahead of the series, with a new backstage tower area, for the couples to watch their teammates perform. As per the previous series, Week 8 was broadcast live from the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool.

## 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 (in which scores from the group Swing-a-thon are not included).*

## Dance Scoring

* The highest and lowest performances for each dance, according to the judges' scores:

### Couples' Highest and Lowest Scoring Dances

*The highest and lowest performances of each couple during the series.*

## 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, Len Goodman, Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli.*

### Week 1

* The celebrities performed over two nights; Friday and Saturday; performing either the Cha-Cha-Cha or the Waltz.
* There was no elimination or public vote this week, the judges scores were combined with the scores in Week 2.

**Night 1 - Friday**

**Night 2 - Saturday**

* *Featuring musical guests, Robbie Williams and Gary Barlow, with a performance of their song "Shame".*

### Week 2

* *Featuring musical guest, Robbie Williams, with a performance of his song "Rock DJ".*

**Dance Off:** Goldie & Kristina, Peter & Erin

**Eliminated Couple**: Goldie & Kristina

### Week 3

* *Featuring musical guest, Peter Andre, with a performance of his song, "Defender".*
* Tina O'Brien was unable to perform due to illness. Under the rules of the show, she was granted a bypass to the following week.

**Dance Off:** Michelle & Brendan, Paul & Ola

**Eliminated Couple**: Paul & Ola

### Week 4

* *Featuring musical guest, Neil Diamond, with a performance of "Midnight Train to Georgia".*
* Former professional Ian Waite stood in for Brendan Cole, whilst Cole was away for personal reasons.

**Dance Off:** Michelle & Ian, Peter & Erin

**Eliminated Couple**: Peter & Erin

### Week 5: Halloween Week

* *Featuring musical guest, Alice Cooper, with a performance of her song, "Poison".*

**Dance Off:** Felicity & Vincent, Tina & Jared

**Eliminated Couple**: Tina & Jared

### Week 6

* *Featuring musical guest, Bryan Ferry, with a performance of his song, "You Can Dance".*

**Dance Off:** Jimi & Flavia, Michelle & Brendan

**Eliminated Couple**: Jimi & Flavia

### Week 7

* *Featuring musical guest, Annie Lennox, with a performance of her song, "Universal Child", and a special performance by Alesha Dixon with her song, "Radio".*

**Dance Off:** Felicity & Vincent, Michelle & Brendan

**Eliminated Couple**: Michelle & Brendan

### Week 8: Blackpool Week

* The episode was broadcast from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
* *Featuring musical guests, Viva Elvis, with a performance of "Blue Suede Shoes", and Duffy, with her song, "Well, Well, Well".*

**Dance Off:** Felicity & Vincent, Patsy & Robin

**Eliminated Couple**: Felicity & Vincent

### Week 9

* *Featuring musical guest, James Blunt, with a performance of his song "So Far Gone"*

**Dance Off:** Gavin & Katya, Patsy & Robin

**Eliminated Couple**: Patsy & Robin

### Week 10: Movie Night (Quarter-Final)

**Dance Off:** Ann & Anton, Scott & Natalie

**Eliminated Couple**: Ann & Anton

### Week 11: Semi-Final

* **Night 1**

**Night 2**

* *Featuring musical guest band, Take That, with a performance of their songs "Hold Up a Light" and "Back for Good", and a special performance of "The Three Little Bears" by Bruce Forsyth & Lance Ellington*

**Eliminated Couples**: Gavin & Katya, Scott & Natalie

### Week 12: Final

**Night 1**

**Night 2**

 37(9,9,10,9)
 Kara & Artem

**Strictly Champions**: Kara & Artem