Strictly Come Dancing 2023: Release date and latest news
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 heads into Blackpool Week with the songs and dances and snippets of the couples' routines revealed.
It's Blackpool Week on Strictly Come Dancing 2023, and the celebrities and their pros will be hoping to impress the judges and possibly score the first 40 of the series.
Week Eight saw Krishnan Guru-Murthy and Lauren Oakley become the latest couple to be eliminated from the competition, after after losing out in the dreaded dance-off against Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington.
Krishnan and Lauren's exit followed Adam Thomas and Luba Mushtuk's elimination, after Zara McDermott and Jody Cundy also exited the competition.
Les Dennis became the first celebrity to leave Strictly, while Amanda Abbington pulled out of the series in Week Five citing personal reasons.
Meanwhile, Layton Williams topped the leaderboard once again last week, after scoring a near-perfect 39 with his Argentine Tango to Tattoo by Loreen, followed closely behind by Corrie star Ellie Leach, who scored 35 points.
Just seven celebrities remain to battle it out for the Glitterball trophy glory – and they'll be hoping to secure their spot on the historic dance floor of the Blackpool Tower ballroom.
Will another celebrity manage to take the top spot in Blackpool Week? We'll just have to watch and find out!
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Nigel Harman and Katya Jones will be performing a Quickstep to It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing) by Duke Ellington, and Angela Scanlon and Carlos Gu will dance their Argentine Tango to Back To Black by Amy Winehouse.
Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington will dance American Smooth to Tea for Two by Ella Fitzgerald, Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin will do the Couple's Choice to Ain't No Other Man by Christina Aguilera, and Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell will perform the Jive to Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!.
Annabel Croft and Johannes Radebe will do the American Smooth to Unchained Melody by Benedetta Caretta, and, finally, Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola will be giving us their Charleston to Love Machine by Girls Aloud.
As the remaining famous faces all prepare for their Blackpool live show, they will all be hoping to improve on last week's scores from judges Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and Shirley Ballas to avoid appearing in the dreaded dance-off.
As usual, Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman will be presenting all the action as the famous faces and their professional partners take to the dance floor to perform Tangos, Charlestons and Quicksteps.
Read on for everything you need to know about Strictly Come Dancing 2023, including the hosts, professionals and the latest news.
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 release date: What time is Strictly on tonight?
The second Strictly Come Dancing 2023 live show will air at 6:40pm on Saturday 18th November on BBC One, the BBC has confirmed.
It will be followed by the results show on Sunday 19th November.
All the celebrities will be performing, the judges will be scoring, and the public will be voting.
Who is competing in Strictly Come Dancing 2023? Confirmed line-up
Here are the celebrities taking part in Strictly Come Dancing 2023.
Former Strictly 2023 contestants:
- Les Dennis - Eliminated in Week Two
- Nikita Kanda - Eliminated in Week Three
- Jody Cundy CBE - Eliminated in Week Four
- Eddie Kadi - Eliminated Week Five
- Amanda Abbington - Exited the competition in Week Five for personal reasons
- Zara McDermott - Eliminated in Week Six
- Adam Thomas - Eliminated in Week Seven
- Krishnan Guru-Murthy - Eliminated in Week Eight
Many of the stars have spoken out on their expectations leading up to the show, with Bobby Brazier saying: "I'm excited to hear what [the judges] have to say and take it back to the studio."
He added: "The journey that I'm going to go on with my partner, and my friends now, it's going to be so beautiful. They're going to see me at my best and at my worst, and it's just a really sweet thing, I think."
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Angela Rippon, who's the oldest contestant to ever take part in the show, said of why she signed up: "I think if we can get the message across, that it is a great way of keeping fit even during your 20s and 30s, and think ahead to when you're going to be old.
"And the number of people that are dancing in their 60s and 70s or 80s and 90s, it's fantastic and it's good for the brain as well."
Adam Thomas, meanwhile, said he just wants to make his kids smile with his appearance on the show.
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 hosts
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman have returned as the hosts of this year's Strictly Come Dancing once again.
While Tess stays close by to the dance floor to speak to each couple after they've performed, Claudia's domain is the gallery, where the other pairs sit patiently waiting for their chance to strut their stuff!
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 judges
As with all our favourite entertainment shows, the series would be nothing without a familiar panel of judges to critique the stars - and Strictly is no different.
Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas returned from last year as the Strictly Come Dancing 2023 judges.
While Craig has been giving his (sometimes harsh!) opinions on the show since its inception in 2004, Shirley Ballas replaced Len Goodman (who sadly passed away in April this year, aged 78) as head judge in season 15.
Motsi Mabuse - sister to former dancer, and winner, on the show, Oti - became a firm fan favourite when she stepped into Dame Darcey Bussell's shoes in season 17; and former professional Anton Du Beke finally got his time in the sun when Bruno Tonioli quit the show after season 18.
Strictly Come Dancing 2023 professionals
While they may be partnered with a host of famous faces each year, the Strictly Come Dancing professionals have become just as well-known as their celebrity pairings!
Thankfully, we already know that we're only losing one of them this year. Cameron Lombard – who joined the series in 2021 but wasn't given a partner on either of his seasons on the show – has exited the line-up.
A spokesperson for Strictly said: "Cameron is a fantastic performer and we have loved working with him for the past two years on Strictly. He is currently pursuing other opportunities but will always be part of the family and our door will always be open to him in the future."
The BBC has confirmed Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Vito Coppola, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Carlos Gu, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Lauren Oakley, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Michelle Tsiakkas, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu will all be returning for this year's series.
Where is Strictly Come Dancing filmed?
Strictly Come Dancing is currently filmed at Elstree Studios, which is located in London's Borehamwood - but that isn’t where the show has always taken place.
Prior to its move to Elstree in 2013, Strictly was previously filmed at BBC Television Studio from the first season, which aired in 2004. The first two seasons of the show also featured episodes which were filmed at the Tower Ballroom in Blackpool - which, of course, is now a coveted opportunity for the contestants.
Wembley Arena then hosted the show in 2011 and 2012, before Strictly permanently made Elstree its home the following year.
Will Blackpool Week return for Strictly Come Dancing 2023?
Yes!
The Strictly celebrities and their pros will take on Blackpool Tower once again.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 18th November at 6:40pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. The results show will air on Sunday 19th November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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