Luba Mushtuk (; born 14 November 1989) is a Russian-British dancer and choreographer. Between 2018 and 2025, she appeared a professional dancer on the British dance competition show Strictly Come Dancing.
Early life Mushtuk was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia. When she was twelve she moved to Italy to dance. She announced on Instagram on November 20, 2023 that she had become a British citizen.
Career Mushtuk is four-time Italian Dance Championship and an Italian Open Latin Show Dance champion. She came in second place in the European 10 Dance Championships and was a finalist at the Latin European Championships.
Strictly Come Dancing In 2018, the BBC announced that Mushtuk would join the cast of professional dancers on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. She won the Children in Need special that year with the Irish singer Shane Lynch. She has also competed in the Christmas Special four times: with Jake Wood in 2018, Jay Blades in 2021, Rickie Haywood-Williams in 2022 and Nicholas Bailey in 2025.
In 2019, Mushtuk was partnered with the rower James Cracknell. They were the first couple to be eliminated after losing the first dance-off to David James and Nadiya Bychkova. In 2020, she was partnered with the former NFL player and sports pundit, Jason Bell. They were the second couple to be eliminated after losing the second dance-off to Nicola Adams and Katya Jones.
After two series without a celebrity partner and participating only in the professional dances, she was partnered with the actor Adam Thomas for in 2023. They were the sixth couple to be eliminated after losing the fifth dance-off to Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington. In 2024, she was partnered with TV presenter Nick Knowles They were the third couple to be eliminated after losing the dance off to Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu. Mushtuk did not receive a partner for the twenty-third series, and it was subsequently revealed the following year that she would be departing the show along with several other professional dancers. Speaking on her exit, Mushtuk thanked the show for "the amazing opportunity and unforgettable memories" and said "it [had] truly meant the world to [her]".
Series Partner Place AverageScore17James Cracknell15th12.018Jason Bell11th20.321Adam Thomas9th27.322Nick Knowles13th20.0
Highest and lowest scoring per dance DancePartnerHighestPartnerLowestAmerican Smooth Adam Thomas 32 Jason Bell Nick Knowles 21Cha-cha-cha Adam Thomas 19 Charleston Nick Knowles 21 Couple's Choice Adam Thomas 32 Jive Adam Thomas 26 James Cracknell 13Paso Doble Jason Bell Rumba Adam Thomas Salsa Jason Bell 24Tango Adam Thomas 23 James Cracknell Waltz Adam Thomas 32
numbers indicate Luba and her partner were at the bottom of the leaderboard that week.
Series 17 Celebrity partner: James Cracknell Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult1Tango / "Gold"2333No Elimination2Jive / "Tutti Frutti"333413 Eliminated
Series 18 Celebrity partner: Jason Bell Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult1American Smooth / "My Girl"46616No Elimination2Salsa / "Get Lucky"66618Safe3Paso Doble / "Star Wars Theme"345 Eliminated
Series 21 Celebrity partner: Adam Thomas Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult1Cha-cha-cha / "Waffle House"455519No Elimination2Tango / "Somebody Told Me"565723Safe3Jive / "Take On Me"577726Safe4Waltz / "I Wonder Why"888832Safe5Couple's Choice / "Backstreet Boys medley"788932Safe6American Smooth / "Magic Moments"798832 Bottom two7Rumba / "Dancing on My Own"6777 Eliminated
Series 22 Celebrity partner: Nick Knowles Week No.Dance/SongJudges' scoreTotalResult1Jive / "We Built This City"355518No Elimination2American Smooth / "Parklife"555621Safe4Charleston / "Rain on the Roof" 4 6 5 6 21 Eliminated
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