Strictly Come Dancing: Week One Recap

Strictly Come Dancing returned last week, and with week two of the show tonight, let’s recap what happened during week one.

When September arrives, I enjoy the start of autumn and the crisper weather, but there's one thing that makes me really happy. That is Strictly Come Dancing.

The BBC dance competition has been broadcast on our televisions since 2004. Each year, 15 couples take to the dance floor in the hopes of working their way towards the final to clinch the glitterball.

Last weekend, Strictly Come Dancing returned for its 23rd season. 15 new celebrities danced for the very first time in the Strictly studio with their professional partner and received a score from the judges.

Today, Strictly's second live show is airing and it is the first weekend with a dance-off and elimination. So, let's get into what happened during week one of Strictly Come Dancing to get up to date before week two tonight.

Strictly Come Dancing: Week One Recap

The Judges

The judges for the 2025 season of Strictly Come Dancing are the same as last year. On the judging panel, there is:

• Craig Revel-Horwood

• Motsi Mabuse

• Shirley Ballas

• Anton Du Beke

The four of the judges graced our screens with a judges' dance at the start of week one. Craig was an announcer whilst Motsi, Shirley and Anton each danced with the show's professionals, working through different decades.

It was a fab opening, showcasing what the judges can do and that they do know what they're talking about.

For Movie Week, there are also rumours that Cynthia Erivo will be joining the panel as a guest judge. She first appeared on Strictly, replacing Craig, on Musicals Week during Covid.

The Contestants

This year's contestants range from soap stars to footballers to drag queens to gladiators. So, the 15 celebrities taking part in Strictly are:

• Harry Aikines-Aryeety - Gladiator (Nitro)

• Alex Kingston - Actress

• Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink - Former Footballer

• Balvinder Sopal - EastEnders Star

• George Clarke - Social Media Star

• La Voix - Performer and RuPaul's Drag Race UK Competitor

• Chris Robshaw - Former England Rugby Union Captain

• Ellie Goldstein - Model and Actress

• Thomas Skinner - Businessman

• Vicky Pattinson - TV Presenter

• Stefan Dennis - Actor

• Ross King - Presenter and Writer

• Karen Carney - Ex-Lioness

• Lewis Cope - Emmerdale Star

• Amber Davies - West End Performer

Amber Davies stepped in at the last minute to take over from Dani Dyer, who suffered an injury during training. As such, Amber was brought in with only a few days to rehearse before the first live show.

Week One Leaderboard

The first live show saw all 15 couples take to the dance floor, but nobody went home. Instead, their scores are carried over to tonight's show, with the first dance-off being tomorrow.

Week one's leaderboard after all 15 contestants had danced is as follows:

Week Two Dances

Tonight is the series' second live show, which means all new routines and dances. Each score for tonight will be combined with week one's score to create a total for reference when the audience votes.

The dances for week two are:

• Karen and Carlos — Tango

• Lewis and Katya — Viennese Waltz

• Amber and Nikita — Samba

• Jimmy and Lauren — Cha Cha Cha

• George and Alexis — Paso Doble

• La Voix and Alijaz — Jive

• Vicky and Kai — Foxtrot

• Stefan and Dianne — Cha Cha Cha

• Alex and Johannes — Samba

• Harry and Karen — Quickstep

• Ellie and Vito — Waltz

• Balvinder and Julian — Charleston

• Thomas and Amy — Salsa

• Chris and Nadiya — Viennese Waltz

• Ross and Jowita — Waltz

New Dance-Off Rule

For the 2025 season of Strictly Come Dancing, there is a new rule when it comes to the dance-off on Sundays. Previously, with only four judges, Shirley was named Head Judge.

This meant that if the dance-off vote were split two to one, Shirley would decide which couple would be saved another week. However, during week one, it was announced that the Head Judge would change from week to week, giving all four judges the opportunity.

As someone who has watched Strictly for many years, this is certainly an interesting development. It'll be good to see what the other judges decide and how this plays out.

How to Vote

Voting has also changed for this season of Strictly. Whilst it's still down to the public, the only way to vote now is online with a BBC account.

There will also be a QR code on your televisions throughout the programme. By scanning that, you'll be taken to the voting page where you can cast your vote too.

With quite a bit of new information for the 2025 season and a strong cast of contestants, I have a feeling this series is going to be a good one.

Week two of Strictly Come Dancing airs tonight at 18:20 UK time on BBC One.

Keep dancing!

Until next time...