Strictly Come Dancing returned for its eighteenth series with a launch show on 17 October 2020 on BBC One, and the live shows beginning on 24 October. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the series launched a month later than usual and ran for only nine weeks instead of the usual thirteen. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark-Neal returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Clark-Neal was replaced by Gethin Jones for four shows after coming into contact with someone who had tested positive for COVID-19.
On 12 September, it was announced that for the first time since the tenth series, there would be no live show broadcast from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom due to the pandemic. However, it was announced shortly afterwards that there would be four episodes highlighting the best moments from previous series. The final episode featured a tribute to 2014 winner Caroline Flack, who had died on 15 February that year.
Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse returned to the judging panel. On 21 August 2020, it was announced that Bruno Tonioli could not be part of the judging panel for this series due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and his role on Dancing with the Stars. Tonioli instead appeared virtually to give his critiques on the performances during the Sunday night results show. Motsi Mabuse had to miss weeks 4 and 5 in accordance with British government guidelines after travelling to Germany due to a break-in at her dance academy; she was replaced by professional dancer Anton Du Beke, who had previously been eliminated from the competition alongside Jacqui Smith. Du Beke became a permanent judge from the nineteenth series.
Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse were announced as the winners on 19 December, while HRVY and Janette Manrara, Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer, and Maisie Smith and Gorka Márquez were the runners-up.
Format
The couples dance each week in a live show. The judges score each performance out of ten. The couples are then ranked according to the judges' scores and given points according to their rank, with the lowest scored couple receiving one point, and the highest scored couple receiving the most points (the maximum number of points available depends on the number of couples remaining in the competition). The public are also invited to vote for their favourite couples, and the couples are ranked again according to the number of votes they receive, again receiving points; the couple with the fewest votes receiving one point, and the couple with the most votes receiving the most points.
The points for judges' score and public vote are then added together, and the two couples with the fewest points are placed in the bottom two. If two couples have equal points, the points from the public vote are given precedence. As with the previous series, the bottom two couples have to perform a dance-off on the results show. Based on that performance alone, each judge then votes on which couple should stay and which couple should leave, with Shirley Ballas, as head judge, having the last and deciding vote.
Professional dancers On 6 March 2020, Kevin Clifton announced he was leaving the show after seven years. Despite being confirmed in the 2020 professional line-up, on 26 March 2020, AJ Pritchard announced he was leaving the show after four years. The other professional dancers from 2019 were all confirmed to be returning for the series. Neil Jones and Nadiya Bychkova only featured in group dances after having partners the previous year, alongside Graziano Di Prima and Nancy Xu.
Due to the pandemic, several changes had to be made in how the professional dancers performed. Firstly, the dancers had to shield at home for two weeks. They then formed a bubble which allowed them to stay in a hotel, where they could practise their routines. All of the group dances were pre-recorded.
Couples This series featured twelve celebrity contestants. On 1 September 2020, the first three celebrities announced were Caroline Quentin, Jason Bell, and Max George. On 2 September 2020, it was announced that Olympic boxer Nicola Adams would be part of the first same-sex partnership. On 3 September 2020, Made in Chelsea star Jamie Laing was confirmed to be participating in the series after having to withdraw from the seventeenth series due to a foot injury. Celebrity reveals continued throughout the week until the full line-up was revealed on 4 September 2020. On 12 November 2020, it was announced that Katya Jones had tested positive for COVID-19, which meant that she and Nicola Adams had to withdraw from the competition due to the government's guidelines on self-isolation.
Celebrity Notability Professional partner Status Jacqui Smith Labour Party politician Anton Du Beke Eliminated 1ston 1 November 2020 Jason Bell NFL player & pundit Luba Mushtuk Eliminated 2ndon 8 November 2020 Nicola Adams Olympic boxer Katya Jones Withdrewon 12 November 2020 Max George The Wanted singer Dianne Buswell Eliminated 3rdon 15 November 2020 Actress & television presenter Johannes Radebe Eliminated 4thon 22 November 2020 Clara Amfo BBC Radio 1 presenter Aljaž Škorjanec Eliminated 5thon 29 November 2020 JJ Chalmers Television presenter & Invictus Games medallist Amy Dowden Eliminated 6thon 6 December 2020 Ranvir Singh Good Morning Britain presenter & journalist Giovanni Pernice Eliminated 7thon 13 December 2020 HRVY Singer & television presenter Janette Manrara Runners-upon 19 December 2020 Jamie Laing Made in Chelsea star Karen Hauer Maisie Smith EastEnders actress Gorka Márquez Bill Bailey Comedian, musician & actor Oti MabuseWinnerson 19 December 2020
Scoring chart The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger ().
Color key:
+Strictly Come Dancing (series 18) - Weekly scores Couple Week 1 2 1+2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bill & Oti 1st 15 24 39 26 27 25 24 24 25+23=48 29+30+29= HRVY & Janette 2nd 24 21 27 26 23+30=53 29+29+30= Jamie & Karen 14 17 31 23 25 24 24 24+24=48 26+29+29= Maisie & Gorka 24 24 24 27 29 28 30+29= 29+30+29= Ranvir & Giovanni 5th 21 21 42 20 27 24 27 26+18= JJ & Amy 6th 19 17 36 24 25 25 Clara & Aljaž 7th 18 17 35 20 8th 21 21 42 21 22 24 Max & Dianne 9th 17 20 37 24 20 Nicola & Katya 10th 21 24 45 19 Jason & Luba 11th 16 18 34 Jacqui & Anton 12th Notes
Average chart This table only counts for dances scored on a 30-point scale. Couple Rank byaverage Totalpoints Number ofdances Totalaverage Maisie & Gorka 1st 328 12 27.3 HRVY & Janette 2nd 323 26.9 Bill & Oti 3rd 301 25.1 Jamie & Karen 4th 288 24.0 Ranvir & Giovanni 5th 211 9 23.4 Caroline & Johannes 6th 109 5 21.8 Nicola & Katya 7th 64 3 21.3 JJ & Amy 8th 147 7 21.0 Max & Dianne 9th 81 4 20.3 Clara & Aljaž 10th 121 6 20.2 Jason & Luba 11th 46 3 15.3 Jacqui & Anton 12th 25 2 12.5
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, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse.
Week 1 There was no elimination this week; all scores and votes carried over to the following week. Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusic Jamie & Karen 14 (4, 5, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Think About Things" — Daði og Gagnamagnið Caroline & Johannes 21 (7, 7, 7) American Smooth "Morning Train (9 to 5)" — Sheena Easton Max & Dianne 17 (6, 5, 6) Tango "Best Fake Smile" — James Bay Clara & Aljaž 18 (5, 6, 7) Cha-cha-cha "Don't Start Now" — Dua Lipa Jacqui & Anton 13 (3, 5, 5) Foxtrot "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" — Monty Python JJ & Amy 19 (6, 6, 7) Waltz "What a Wonderful World" — Louis Armstrong Maisie & Gorka 24 (8, 8, 8) Samba "Samba (Conga)" — Gloria Estefan Jason & Luba 16 (4, 6, 6) American Smooth "My Girl" — The Temptations Ranvir & Giovanni 21 (7, 7, 7) Paso doble "End of Time" — Beyoncé Nicola & Katya 21 (7, 7, 7) Quickstep "Get Happy" — Ella Fitzgerald Bill & Oti 15 (3, 6, 6) Cha-cha-cha "Pata Pata" — Miriam Makeba HRVY & Janette 25 (8, 8, 9) Jive "Faith" — Stevie Wonder, feat. Ariana Grande
Week 2 Musical guest: Sam Smith — "Diamonds"
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Max & Dianne 20 (6, 7, 7) Jive "I'm a Believer" — The Monkees Safe Clara & Aljaž 17 (5, 6, 6) Viennese waltz "You Don't Own Me" — SayGrace Safe Bill & Oti 24 (8, 8, 8) Quickstep "Talk to the Animals" — Bobby Darin Safe JJ & Amy 17 (5, 6, 6) Paso doble "Believer" — Imagine Dragons Safe Jamie & Karen 17 (5, 6, 6) American Smooth "Night and Day" — Frank Sinatra Bottom two Maisie & Gorka 25 (8, 9, 8) Tango "Midnight Sky" — Miley Cyrus Safe Jacqui & Anton 12 (2, 5, 5) Samba "Help Yourself" — Tom Jones Eliminated HRVY & Janette 24 (7, 8, 9) Viennese waltz "Stuck with U" — Ariana Grande & Justin Bieber Safe Ranvir & Giovanni 21 (6, 7, 8) Quickstep "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" — Stevie Wonder Safe Nicola & Katya 24 (8, 8, 8) Street/Commercial "Shine" — Years & Years Safe Caroline & Johannes 21 (7, 7, 7) Paso doble "El gato montés" — Ramon Cortez Pasodoble Orchestra Safe Jason & Luba 18 (6, 6, 6) Salsa "Get Lucky" — Daft Punk, feat. Pharrell Williams Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Jamie & Karen Mabuse: Jamie & Karen Ballas: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jamie & Karen
Week 3: Movie Week Musical guests: The Kanneh-Masons — "Ave Maria"
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicFilmResult Nicola & Katya 19 (6, 7, 6) Jive "Greased Lightnin'" Grease Bottom two Maisie & Gorka 24 (8, 7, 9) American Smooth "Into the Unknown" Frozen II Safe Caroline & Johannes 21 (6, 7, 8) Theatre/Jazz "Everything's Coming Up Roses" Gypsy Safe Jason & Luba 12 (3, 4, 5) Paso doble "Star Wars Theme" Star Wars Eliminated JJ & Amy 24 (8, 8, 8) Foxtrot "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Safe HRVY & Janette 21 (6, 7, 8) Cha-cha-cha "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" Gnomeo & Juliet Safe Ranvir & Giovanni 27 (9, 9, 9) Foxtrot "Love You I Do" Dreamgirls Safe Jamie & Karen 23 (7, 8, 8) Charleston "Zero to Hero" Hercules Safe Clara & Aljaž 20 (7, 6, 7) Tango "Lady Marmalade" Moulin Rouge! Safe Max & Dianne 24 (8, 8, 8) Street/Commercial "The Simpsons Theme" The Simpsons Movie Safe Bill & Oti 26 (8, 9, 9) Paso doble "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Nicola & Katya Mabuse: Nicola & Katya Ballas: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Nicola & Katya
Week 4 Individual judges' scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
Musical guest: The Vamps — "Married in Vegas"
Anton Du Beke substituted for Motsi Mabuse, who was forced to miss two weeks due to having travelled outside the United Kingdom.
After Katya Jones tested positive for COVID-19, she and Nicola Adams were forced to withdraw from the competition.
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult HRVY & Janette 27 (8, 10, 9) Salsa "Dynamite" — BTS Safe Ranvir & Giovanni 20 (5, 7, 8) Cha-cha-cha "Oye Como Va" — Santana &"I Like It Like That" — Pete Rodriguez Safe Max & Dianne 20 (5, 7, 8) American Smooth "It Had to Be You" — Harry Connick Jr. Eliminated JJ & Amy 17 (4, 6, 7) Jive "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" — Bette Midler Safe Maisie & Gorka 24 (7, 8, 9) Cha-cha-cha "Girls Just Want to Have Fun" — Cyndi Lauper Bottom two Bill & Oti 27 (8, 10, 9) Street/Commercial "Rapper's Delight" — The Sugarhill Gang Safe Caroline & Johannes 22 (7, 7, 8) Waltz "With You I'm Born Again" — Billy Preston & Syreeta Wright Safe Jamie & Karen 25 (8, 8, 9) Samba "Bamboléo" — Gipsy Kings Safe Clara & Aljaž 29 (9, 10, 10) Charleston "Baby Face" — Julie Andrews Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Maisie & Gorka Du Beke: Maisie & Gorka