Strictly Come Dancing returned for its twenty-third series with a launch show on 20 September 2025 on BBC One, with live shows beginning from 27 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, whilst Janette Manrara and Fleur East returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke returned to the judging panel. It was the last series to be presented by Daly and Winkleman, who announced their departures on 23 October 2025.
The series concluded on 20 December 2025, when footballer Karen Carney and her partner Carlos Gu were announced as the winners, with Amber Davies and Nikita Kuzmin, and George Clarke and Alexis Warr finishing as the runners-up.
Format
The couples dance each week in a live show. The judges score each performance out of ten. After all the couples have danced they are then ranked according to the judges' scores and given points according to their rank, with the highest ranked couple receiving a number of points equal to the number of couples dancing that week e.g. 7 points where there are 7 couples dancing. When there are no tied scores the lowest scored couple will receive one point. However, in the event of a tie where two or more couples obtain the same judges score, the couple below those in the tie will be awarded one point below the points awarded to each of the tied couples. So, for example, if two couples obtain the same rank and obtain 7 points each, the couple immediately below them will be awarded 6 points. When couples are ranked equally by the judges the scoring of all other couples underneath will follow in the same descending order. Should there be any tied scores the lowest scored couple will therefore receive more than one point from the judges scores. 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 most votes receiving the most points. Again in the unlikely event of a tie in the public vote the points are awarded in the same way as the points from the judges score.
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. For the first time in the show's history, the casting vote was not made solely by the head judge in the dance-off and was instead rotated, with a different judge making the decision each week.
Professional dancers In April 2025, the BBC announced that all the professional dancers from the previous series; Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystał, Johannes Radebe, Aljaž Škorjanec, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola; would be returning to this series. On 27 July, the BBC announced that two new professional dancers, Alexis Warr and Julian Caillon, would join the series. Warr won the seventeenth season of So You Think You Can Dance and was a troupe member on the American version of Dancing with the Stars. Caillon appeared as a professional dancer on three series of the Australian version of Dancing with the Stars.
During the launch show, Julian Caillon and Alexis Warr received a celebrity partner for the first time, while Neil Jones, Gorka Márquez, Luba Mushtuk, Michelle Tsiakkas and Nancy Xu did not receive a partner. The rest of the pros were paired to a celebrity.
Couples On 11 August 2025, Harry Aikines-Aryeetey was announced as the first contestant to be competing in the series on Newsround. Dani Dyer, Alex Kingston and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink were subsequently confirmed later that evening on The One Show. The celebrities continued to be revealed until 15 August 2025, when the full line-up was announced. Game of Thrones actor and DJ Kristian Nairn was initially announced as the final celebrity to be competing in the series, however on 21 August 2025, he withdrew from the competition due to health reasons. Former Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope was subsequently announced as his replacement on The One Show later that evening. On 23 September 2025, Love Island winner and actress Dani Dyer, who was initially announced as a contestant and was paired up with Nikita Kuzmin during the launch show, was announced to be withdrawing from the series after fracturing her ankle during training, Love Island winner and West End actress Amber Davies was announced as her replacement on 26 September, and began training with Kuzmin ahead of the first live show the following evening.
Celebrity Notability Professional partner Status Thomas Skinner The Apprentice contestant & businessman Amy DowdenEliminated 1st Ross King Television presenter Jowita PrzystałEliminated 2nd Chris Robshaw England rugby player Nadiya BychkovaEliminated 3rd Stefan Dennis Neighbours actor & singer Dianne Buswell Withdrew Netherlands footballer & manager Lauren OakleyEliminated 4th Ellie Goldstein Model & Malory Towers actress Vito CoppolaEliminated 5th Harry Aikines-Aryeetey Olympic sprinter & Gladiators star Karen HauerEliminated 6th Vicky Pattison Television personality Kai WiddringtonEliminated 7th La Voix Aljaž Škorjanec Withdrew Alex Kingston Stage & screen actress Eliminated 8th Lewis Cope Emmerdale actor Katya JonesEliminated 9th Balvinder Sopal EastEnders actress Julian CaillonEliminated 10th George Clarke Social media personality & podcaster Alexis WarrRunners-upon 20 December 2025 Amber Davies Love Island winner & West End actress Nikita Kuzmin Karen Carney England footballer & pundit Carlos GuWinnerson 20 December 2025
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 23 - Weekly scores Couple Week 1 2 1+2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9+10 11 12 13 Karen & Carlos 1st 20 51 25 27 28 38 35 31 39 40+1=41 80 39+39=40+37+40= Amber & Nikita 2nd 27 29 35 33 33 35 38 36 40+4= 80 37+40=7739+39+40= George & Alexis 24 30 54 31 30 29 34 29 39 34+2=36 75 35 35+37=7239+39+39= 4th 17 30 47 26 28 28 28 34 28+5=33 66 35 35+35= Lewis & Katya 5th 28 27 55 34 35 37 36+6=42 35 Alex & Johannes 6th 21 52 30 32 35 30 35 35 23+3= La Voix & Aljaž 7th 24 19 43 28 28 35 33 Vicky & Kai 8th 23 24 47 25 29 33 31 Harry & Karen 9th 19 26 45 32 26 30 30 Ellie & Vito 10th 17 23 40 27 31 28 27 Jimmy & Lauren 11th 27 25 52 28 29 30 Stefan & Dianne 12th 22 17 39 26 Chris & Nadiya 13th 14 16 30 22 24 Ross & Jowita 14th 15 Thomas & Amy 15th 16 29
Average chart This table only counts for dances scored on a 40-points scale. The extra points for the Instant Dance are not included. Couple Rank byaverage Totalpoints Number ofdances Totalaverage Amber & Nikita 1st 579 16 36.2 Lewis & Katya 2nd 383 11 34.8 Karen & Carlos 3rd 543 16 33.9 George & Alexis 4th 531 33.2 Alex & Johannes 5th 308 10 30.8 Balvinder & Julian 6th 384 13 29.5 Vicky & Kai 7th 231 8 28.9 Jimmy & Lauren 8th 139 5 27.8 Harry & Karen 9th 189 7 27.0 La Voix & Aljaž 10th 210 8 26.3 Ellie & Vito 11th 153 6 25.5 Stefan & Dianne 12th 65 3 21.7 Chris & Nadiya 13th 76 4 19.0 Ross & Jowita 14th 44 3 14.7 Thomas & Amy 15th 29 2 14.5
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, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
Launch show Musical guest: Jessie J — "Living My Best Life"
Week 1 Each couple performed one unlearned dance. There was no elimination this week; all scores carried over to the following week.
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicChris & Nadiya 14 (3, 4, 3, 4)Samba "Unbelievable" — EMFAlex & Johannes 21 (4, 6, 5, 6)Viennese waltz "Cry Me a River" — Michael BubléHarry & Karen 19 (4, 5, 5, 5)Cha-cha-cha "Push It" — Salt-N-PepaStefan & Dianne 22 (4, 6, 6, 6) Foxtrot "Neighbours Theme" — Barry CrockerEllie & Vito 17 (4, 4, 4, 5)Cha-cha-cha "Yes, And?" — Ariana GrandeLewis & Katya 28 (7, 7, 7, 7)Jive "Get Ready" — The TemptationsRoss & Jowita 10 (2, 3, 2, 3)Cha-cha-cha "California Gurls" — Katy PerryGeorge & Alexis 24 (6, 6, 6, 6)American Smooth "Stargazing" — Myles SmithVicky & Kai 23 (5, 6, 6, 6) Cha-cha-cha "Best of My Love" — Ella EyreJimmy & Lauren 27 (6, 7, 7, 7)Quickstep "Chelsea Dagger" — The FratellisBalvinder & Julian 17 (4, 4, 4, 5)Samba "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" — KC and the Sunshine BandLa Voix & Aljaž 24 (6, 6, 6, 6)American Smooth "Pink Pony Club" — Chappell RoanThomas & Amy 16 (2, 4, 5, 5) Paso doble "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" — HoteiAmber & Nikita 27 (7, 7, 7, 6)Waltz "When We Were Young" — AdeleKaren & Carlos 31 (7, 8, 8, 8)Jive "One Way or Another" — Blondie
Week 2 Musical guest: Zara Larsson — "Midnight Sun"
Each couple performed one unlearned dance. Motsi Mabuse had the casting vote this week.
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResultLa Voix & Aljaž 19 (4, 5, 5, 5) Jive "Objection (Tango)" — Shakira SafeKaren & Carlos 20 (4, 5, 5, 6) Tango "Training Season" — Dua Lipa SafeJimmy & Lauren 25 (6, 6, 6, 7) Cha-cha-cha "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" — Santa Esmeralda SafeLewis & Katya 27 (7, 7, 6, 7) Viennese waltz "Lose Control" — Teddy Swims SafeAlex & Johannes 31 (7, 8, 8, 8) Samba "La Bamba" — Connie Francis SafeEllie & Vito 23 (5, 6, 6, 6) Waltz "Your Song" — Ellie Goulding SafeThomas & Amy 13 (2, 3, 4, 4) Salsa "Bonkers" — Dizzee Rascal & Armand van HeldenEliminatedHarry & Karen 26 (6, 7, 6, 7) Quickstep "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love" — The Blues Brothers SafeRoss & Jowita 15 (2, 4, 4, 5) Waltz "Sunshine on Leith" — The Proclaimers SafeAmber & Nikita 29 (8, 7, 7, 7) Samba "Bam Bam" — Camila Cabello feat. Ed Sheeran SafeVicky & Kai 24 (6, 6, 6, 6) Foxtrot "Rein Me In" — Sam Fender & Olivia Dean SafeChris & Nadiya 16 (3, 4, 4, 5) Viennese waltz "Die with a Smile" — Lady Gaga & Bruno MarsBottom twoStefan & Dianne 17 (4, 4, 4, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Give It Up" — KC and the Sunshine Band SafeGeorge & Alexis 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Paso doble "Game of Survival" — Ruelle SafeBalvinder & Julian 30 (7, 8, 8, 7) Charleston "Been Like This" — Meghan Trainor & T-Pain Safe Judges' votes to save Ballas: Chris & Nadiya Du Beke: Chris & Nadiya Horwood: Chris & Nadiya Mabuse: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Chris & Nadiya
Week 3: Movie Week Musical guest: Lang Lang — "Reflection" (from Mulan)
Each couple performed one unlearned dance to famous film songs. Shirley Ballas had the casting vote this week.
Stage and screen star Cynthia Erivo mentored the couples and provided comments alongside the judges, but did not score the routines.
Stefan and Dianne, who were due to dance a Waltz to "It Is You (I Have Loved)" from the movie Shrek, announced that they would be unable to perform on the live show due to Stefan's illness. Under the rules of the show, they were granted a bye to the following week.
Couples are listed in the order they performed.