Strictly Come Dancing series 18

Strictly Come Dancing
Series 18
Presented byTess Daly
Claudia Winkleman
JudgesShirley Ballas
Motsi Mabuse
Craig Revel Horwood
Celebrity winnerBill Bailey
Professional winnerOti Mabuse
No. of episodes17
Release
Original networkBBC One
Original release17 October (2020-10-17) (Launch)
24 October 2020 (2020-10-24) –
19 December 2020 (2020-12-19) (Live shows)
Series chronology
← Previous
Series 17
Next →
Series 19

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.[1] 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.[2][3][4] Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Zoe Ball and Rylan Clark-Neal returned to host Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two.[5] 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.[6] However, it was announced shortly afterwards that there would be four episodes highlighting the best moments from previous series.[7] The final episode featured a tribute to 2014 winner Caroline Flack, who had died on 15 February that year.[8]

Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, and Motsi Mabuse returned to the judging panel.[9] 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;[10][11] she was replaced by Anton Du Beke.[12][13]

Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse were announced as the winners on 19 December,[14] while HRVY and Janette Manrara, Jamie Laing and Karen Hauer, and Maisie Smith and Gorka Márquez were the runners-up.

  1. ^ McLean, Patrick (1 October 2020). "Strictly Come Dancing to launch on Saturday 17th October". Radio Times. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing 2020 to be shorter series". BBC News. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  3. ^ Craig, David (1 July 2020). "Strictly start date revealed as Blackpool set to go ahead during shorter series". Radio Times. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  4. ^ Darvill, Josh (1 July 2020). "Strictly Come Dancing 2020 start date 'revealed' with a shorter series". TellyMix. Retrieved 24 August 2020.
  5. ^ Milan, Aidan (2 September 2020). "How is Strictly Come Dancing 2020 going to work?". Metro. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Strictly's Blackpool special cancelled for 2020". BBC News. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: The Best Of series starts in September – CBBC Newsround". BBC. 19 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  8. ^ Hegarty, Tasha (10 October 2020). "Strictly Come Dancing pays an emotional tribute to Caroline Flack". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 October 2020.
  9. ^ Ropper, Kerri-Ann (16 October 2020). "In Pictures: A first look at the Strictly Come Dancing launch show". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Motsi Mabuse on Twitter: "#Strictly"". 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  11. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing's Motsi Mabuse Reveals Break-In At Her Dance School, Amid Her Return To Germany". Huffington Post. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  12. ^ "BBC Strictly on Twitter: "News: Anton has a new role on #Strictly this weekend!"". 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  13. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: Anton Du Beke to replace Motsi Mabuse this weekend". BBC News. 13 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
  14. ^ "Strictly Come Dancing: Bill Bailey crowned 2020 winner". BBC News. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2020.