Strictly Come Dancing 2024: An Ultimate Guide

Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is here!

Read on for your comprehensive guide to this year’s edition of the glittering dance contest, its competitors, judges and professionals.

What happened last week?

Saturday saw 2024’s Strictly Come Dancing semi-final, with the remaining five pairings battling it out on the dancefloor to reach this year’s final.

All pairings were required to perform two dances each this week to state their claim to the judges and public to reach this year’s final.

The top scoring partnership from this week was JB Gill and partner Lauren Oakley, who scored 39 for their Paso Doble and 40 for their Salsa, only dropping one point across their two dances.

Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec were behind scoring 75 points total across their two dances, they were awarded a Perfect 40 for their Waltz.

72 points was the amount scored by Sarah Hadland and her partner Vito Coppola, they received eight out of eight nines’, with show favourite Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell accumulating a total of 69 points.

It was Pete Wicks and partner Jowita Przystal who were knocked out this week, they scored 65 points across their two dances and were voted to take part in the series’ penultimate Dance-Off.

They were joined in the dance-off by the partnership of Tasha and Aljaž who received the backing of all four judges, seeing Pete and Jowita knocked out of this year’s competition.

As a result, the four remaining couples and this year’s finalists are:

• Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell
• JB Gill and Lauren Oakley
• Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec
• Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola

Who are this year’s contestants?

Rock star Toyah Willcox, who was a big name in the music industry during the 1980s with hits including It’s A Mystery and I Want to Be Free, is set to take to the ballroom.

Alongside Toyah, singers JB Gill and Shayne Ward, who both started their music careers on the X Factor now take on a different challenge. Ward is now the favourite leading into the competition. Chris McCausland is another celebrity who started out from a competition show in Britain’s Got Talent.

TV stars always seem to capture the hearts of the Strictly viewers, this year is the turn of Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, who is a leading contender in the competition. TOWIE star Pete Wicks, who has tried his hand at dating and cooking, will now be putting his feet to the test. Finally, Jamie Borthwick will feature in the series, the Eastenders man will be sure to give it his all.

As per, there are some former sportsmen and women lined up to tackle a new challenge. Series 22 features hockey star Sam Quek, swimming sensation Tom Dean, fleet-footed Montell Douglas and footballing fan-favourite Paul Merson.

Continuing the long tradition of morning show personalities featuring on the programme, this year sees Punam Krishan, who has appeared on the Morning Live and BBC Scotland show Laid Bare.

Welsh opera singer Wynne Evans, best known for his role as Gio Compario, is also confirmed, along with Nick Knowles and Sarah Hadland, who are also faces we’re used to seeing on television.

The pairings

What would Strictly be without its host of incredibly talented professional dancers? Brought in to back up the celebrities are a group of dancers who have made livelihoods with their ability to move to the rhythm and express themselves with music.

Good chemistry between professional and celebrity is key to winning the competition, and we take a look at this year’s pairings:

• Chris McCausland & Dianne Buswell – 1/12
• JB Gill & Amy Dowden – 14/1
• Sarah Hadland & Vito Coppola – 14/1
• Tasha Ghouri & Aljaž Škorjanec – 16/1
• Pete Wicks & Jowita Przystał – Eliminated
• Montell Douglas & Johannes Radebe – Eliminated
• Jamie Borthwick & Michelle Tsiakkas – Eliminated
• Wynne Evans & Katya Jones – Eliminated
• Shayne Ward & Nancy Xu – Eliminated
• Sam Quek & Nikita Kuzmin – Eliminated
• Punam Krishan & Gorka Márquez – Eliminated
• Nick Knowles & Luba Mushtuk – Eliminated
• Paul Merson & Karen Hauer – Eliminated
• Toyah Wilcox & Neil Jones – Eliminated
• Tom Dean & Nadiya Bychkova – Eliminated

Check out this year’s Strictly odds

Who are the Strictly 2024 judges and hosts?

Ex-Strictly professional dancer, Anton Du Beke will return to his position on the judging panel after his successful spell in the last three years. He will be joined by Craig Revel Horwood – who returns for his 22nd series – Motsi Mabuse and head judge Shirley Ballas once again. Hosting this year’s series are once again the duo of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly.

Who are the previous winners of Strictly Come Dancing?

As is with every year, the couple that wins the grand final takes home the glitzy Disco Ball trophy and more importantly gains the plaudits of the judges, the fans at the venue and the emotionally invested public across the country. Winners of previous seasons are:

• Series 1: Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole
• Series 2: Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett
• Series 3: Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova
• Series 4: Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy
• Series 5: Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler
• Series 6: Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup
• Series 7: Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan
• Series 8: Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvinstev
• Series 9: Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani
• Series 10: Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace
• Series 11: Abbey Clancy and Aljaž Skorjanec
• Series 12: Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev
• Series 13: Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani
• Series 14: Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton
• Series 15: Joe McFadden and Katya Jones
• Series 16: Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton
• Series 17: Kevin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse
• Series 18: Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse
• Series 19: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice
• Series 20: Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal
• Series 21: Ellie Leach and Vito Coppola

Check out the latest Strictly Come Dancing and TV specials betting odds