Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Strictly Come Dancing (series 8)

Updated on
Edit
Like
Comment
Share on FacebookTweet on TwitterShare on LinkedInShare on Reddit
No. of episodes
  
27

Celebrity winner
  
Kara Tointon

Number of episodes
  
27

Original network
  
BBC One

Professional winner
  
Artem Chigvintsev

Country of origin
  
United Kingdom

Strictly Come Dancing (series 8) httpsiytimgcomvifge20cYBSkhqdefaultjpg

Original release
  
11 September (2010-09-11) (Launch Show) 1 October 2010 (2010-10-01) – 18 December 2010 (2010-12-18)

Winners
  
Kara Tointon, Artem Chigvintsev

Strictly Come Dancing returned for its eighth series on BBC One with a red carpet launch show on 11 September 2010, and the competitive live shows began on 1 October. The series concluded on 18 December when Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev won the competition. According to BARB data, this series was the consistently highest rated of the show to date, peaking at 14.28 million viewers. Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Craig Revel Horwood and Alesha Dixon returned as judges.

Contents

There are 14 couples in this series and three new male professionals, Artem Chigvintsev, Robin Windsor and Jared Murillo. For series 8 the set has been totally revamped to try to attract more viewers to the programme, the backstage room where scores were given has been replaced by a tower above the dancefloor so the couples can watch as their team mates perform (much like the so-called 'celebriquarium' on the American version Dancing With The Stars). In week 8 of the competition the live show was transmitted from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.

This series is co-presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly on Saturday. On Sunday, for the results show, Daly is joined by Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two presenter Claudia Winkleman.

The celebrities did not know their professional partners until they were introduced to each other at the launch show. At the age of 61, Pamela Stephenson became (by far) the oldest contestant to ever make it to the finale. Contestant Paul Daniels 4 years after he went on Strictly Come Dancing.

Scoring chart

     indicates the couple eliminated that week      indicates the couple that was in the bottom two that week but 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 Red text the couple(s) with the lowest score for that week Green text the couple(s) with the highest score for that week "—" indicates the couple(s) did not dance that week

Average chart

This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 40 points scale (the scores for the swing-a-thon are not included).

Highest and lowest scoring performances of the series

The best and worst performances in each dance according to the judges' marks are as follows:

Patsy Kensit, Michelle Williams, Jimi Mistry and Goldie are the only celebrities not to land on this list.

Weekly scores and songs

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.

Night 1 – Friday

Running order

Night 2 – Saturday

Running order

Week 2

Running order

Week 3

Running order

Week 4

Running order

* Ian Waite standing in for Brendan Cole who was away attending his father's funeral.

Week 5: Halloween Week

Running order

Week 6

Running order

Week 7

Running order

Week 8: Blackpool Week

Running order

Week 9

Running order

Week 10: Movie Night

Running order

Week 11: Semi-Final

Night 1
Running order
Night 2
Running order

Show 1

Running order

Show 2

Running order

Dance chart

     Highest scoring dance      Lowest scoring dance      Not performed due to illness
  • Week 1: Waltz or Cha-Cha-Cha
  • Week 2: Foxtrot or Salsa
  • Week 3: Quickstep or Rumba
  • Week 4: Tango or Charleston
  • Week 5 - Halloween: Viennese Waltz, Jive, Paso Doble or Argentine Tango
  • Weeks 6 & 7: One unlearned dance from weeks 1–5
  • Week 8 - Blackpool: American Smooth or Samba
  • Week 9: One unlearned dance from weeks 1–8
  • Week 10 - Movie Night: One unlearned dance from weeks 1–8
  • Week 11 - Semi-Final (Night 1): First unlearned dance from weeks 1–8 & Swing Marathon
  • Week 11 - Semi-Final (Night 2): Second unlearned dance from weeks 1–8
  • Week 12 (Show 1): Highest scoring dance of the series & Showdance
  • Week 12 (Show 2): One unlearned dance from weeks 1–8 & couple's favourite dance of the series

    • TV ratings

    Weekly ratings for each show on BBC One. All numbers are in millions and provided by BARB

    Professional partners

    Each year the professional dancers perform professional routines and dance to the special guest. With three new male professional dancers some of the professional pairings have changed again. The following professional partners will dance with each other for the professional routines:

  • Anton du Beke & Erin Boag
  • Brendan Cole & Natalie Lowe
  • James Jordan & Ola Jordan
  • Vincent Simone & Flavia Cacace
  • Artem Chigvintsev & Katya Virshilas
  • Jared Murillo & Aliona Vilani
  • Robin Windsor & Kristina Rihanoff

    • Professional Dance Troupe

  • Darren Bennett & Crystal Main
  • Ian Waite & Aneta Piotrowska
  • Shem Jacobs & Tanya Perera

    • The dances that the Dance Troupe have performed:

  • Launch Show: Quickstep and Jive to "Ballroom Blitz" by Sweet.
  • Week 2: Quickstep to "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train.
  • Week 5: Viennese Waltz to "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS.
  • Week 6: Rock 'n' Roll to "Rock 'n' Roll Is Here to Stay" by Danny and the Juniors, "Roll Over Beethoven" by Chuck Berry, "Shake, Rattle And Roll" by Bill Haley.
  • Week 7: Paso Doble to "Radio" by Alesha Dixon (in front of live artist).
  • Week 10: ABBA Medley to "Mamma Mia", "Lay All Your Love on Me", "Take a Chance on Me".
  • Week 11: Paso Doble to "Fire With Fire" by Scissor Sisters.

    • Celebrity performances

    Each week various celebrities perform on the results show, often accompanied by some of the professional couples.

  • Week 1: Robbie Williams & Gary Barlow – "Shame"
  • Week 2: Robbie Williams – "Rock DJ"
  • Week 3: Peter Andre – "Defender"
  • Week 4: Neil Diamond – "Midnight Train to Georgia"
  • Week 5: Alice Cooper – "Poison" (Halloween special)
  • Week 6: Bryan Ferry – "You Can Dance"
  • Week 7: Annie Lennox – "Universal Child" & Alesha Dixon – "Radio"
  • Week 8: Duffy – "Well, Well, Well"
  • Week 9: James Blunt – "So Far Gone"
  • Week 10: Manic Street Preachers – "Some Kind of Nothingness"
  • Week 11: Take That – "The Flood" & "Back for Good"
  • Week 12: Paloma Faith – "Upside Down"

    • References

    Strictly Come Dancing (series 8) Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA