Come Dancing

Come Dancing
GenreBallroom dancing talent show
Created byEric Morley
Presented by
Narrated by
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes424
Production
Production locationMecca ballrooms (original filming locations)
Production companyBritish Broadcasting Corporation
Original release
NetworkBBC One
Release29 September 1950 (1950-09-29)[1] –
29 December 1998 (1998-12-29)
Related
Infobox instructions (only shown in preview)

Come Dancing is a British ballroom dancing competition show made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) which aired on BBC One at various intervals from 1950[2][3][4] to 1998.[2] Unlike its subsequent follow-up show, Strictly Come Dancing, contestants were neither celebrities nor professionals.[5]

The show was created by Eric Morley, the founder of Miss World,[5] in 1949,[6] and began by broadcasting from regional ballroom studios owned by Mecca, with professional dancers Syd Perkin and Edna Duffield on hand to offer teaching.[6] Its original format was based on a knock-out process of teams from various regions around the UK, such as East Anglia or the South West.[2][5] In 1953, the format changed to become a competition, with dancers representing the home nations (England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales), with later series seeing regions of the United Kingdom going head to head for its coveted trophy.[6]

  1. ^ "History of the BBC – First episode of Come Dancing – 29 September 1950". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "History of the BBC – First episode of Come Dancing – 29 September 1950". British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  3. ^ "Come Dancing waltzes back". The Bolton News. Newsquest Media Group. 24 October 2003. Archived from the original on 5 September 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2023.
  4. ^ Nott, James J. (2015). Going to the Palais: A Social and Cultural History of Dancing and Dance Halls in Britain, 1918–1960. Oxford University Press. p. 107. ISBN 978-0-19-960519-4 – via Google Books.
  5. ^ a b c "Come Dancing – 1950–1998 (UK)". Nostalgia Central. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
  6. ^ a b c "Come Dancing (1949–1998)". British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 June 2014. Retrieved 2 November 2023.