Strictly Come Dancing returned for its sixth series on 20 September 2008 on BBC One. Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly returned as co-presenters of the main show on BBC One, while Claudia Winkleman returned to present the spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two on BBC Two. Len Goodman, Arlene Phillips, Craig Revel Horwood, and Bruno Tonioli returned as judges.
The show featured sixteen celebrities paired with sixteen professional dancers. The new professionals were Brian Fortuna and Hayley Holt, who had previously appeared in the American and New Zealand versions of the show respectively, and Russian dancer Kristina Rihanoff, who had taken part in the Dancing with the Stars tour. Nicole Cutler was the only professional from the previous series not to return.
On 20 December 2008, actor Tom Chambers and Camilla Sacre-Dallerup were announced as the winners, while S Club singer Rachel Stevens and Vincent Simone finished in second place, and model and television presenter Lisa Snowdon and Brendan Cole finished in third.
Format
The couples dance each week in a live show. The judges score each performance out of ten. The couples are then ranked according to the judges' scores and given points according to their rank, with the lowest scored couple receiving one point, and the highest scored couple receiving the most points (the maximum number of points available depends on the number of couples remaining in the competition). The public are also invited to vote for their favourite couples, and the couples are ranked again according to the number of votes they receive, again receiving points; the couple with the fewest votes receiving one point, and the couple with the most votes receiving the most points.
The points for judges' score and public vote are then added together, and the two couples with the fewest points are placed in the bottom two. If two couples have equal points, the points from the public vote are given precedence. As with the previous series, the bottom two couples have to perform a dance-off on the results show. Based on that performance alone, each judge then votes on which couple should stay and which couple should leave, with Len Goodman, as head judge, having the last and deciding vote.About the show, BBC
However, the situation was different on 13 December 2008, when it was announced on the live results show that all three couples would be going through to the finale, regardless of the judges' scores and the public vote. This was due to a tie at the top of the leaderboard, which made it mathematically impossible for Tom Chambers and Camilla Sacre-Dallerup to avoid the dance-off. Despite this, viewers were encouraged to vote. All phone votes cast were carried on to the finale.
Couples This series featured sixteen celebrity contestants. Celebrity Notability Professional partner Status Phil Daniels EastEnders actor Flavia Cacace Eliminated 1ston 21 September 2008 Gillian Taylforth EastEnders actress Anton Du Beke Eliminated 2ndon 28 September 2008 Gary Rhodes Chef & television presenter Karen Hardy Eliminated 3rdon 5 October 2008 Jessie Wallace EastEnders actress Darren Bennett Eliminated 4thon 12 October 2008 Don Warrington Film & television actor Lilia Kopylova Eliminated 5thon 19 October 2008 Mark Foster Olympic swimmer Hayley Holt Eliminated 6thon 26 October 2008 Andrew Castle GMTV presenter & tennis player Ola Jordan Eliminated 7thon 2 November 2008 Heather Small M People singer Brian Fortuna Eliminated 8thon 9 November 2008 Cherie Lunghi Stage & screen actress James Jordan Eliminated 9thon 16 November 2008 John Sergeant Chief political correspondent Kristina Rihanoff Withdrewon 20 November 2008 Jodie Kidd Fashion model Ian Waite Eliminated 10thon 23 November 2008 The One Show presenter Matthew Cutler Eliminated 11thon 30 November 2008 Austin Healey England rugby player Erin Boag Eliminated 12thon 7 December 2008 Lisa Snowdon Model & television presenter Brendan Cole Third placeon 20 December 2008 Rachel Stevens S Club singer Vincent Simone Runners-upon 20 December 2008 Tom Chambers Holby City actor Camilla Sacre-Dallerup Winnerson 20 December 2008
Scoring chart The highest score each week is indicated in with a dagger (), while the lowest score each week is indicated in with a double-dagger ().
Color key:
+Strictly Come Dancing (series 6) - Weekly scores Couple Week 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1314 13+14 Tom & Camilla 1st 28 33 32 34 35 36 35+35=70 39+34=73 33+34= 35+38= 2nd 31 33 30 32 32 35 39+32=71 39+37= 39+36=40+39=79 154 Lisa & Brendan 3rd 22 32 29 35 30 35 39+37= 39+33=72 35+40= 40+40= Austin & Erin 4th 32 29 38 3536+38=74 34+36= 5th 27 26 30 22 29 31 34 28+30= Jodie & Ian 6th 25 22 30 26 31 23 33 30 John & Kristina 7th 22 22 21 Cherie & James 8th 34 31 26 32 Heather & Brian 9th 26 23 23 27 23 27 Andrew & Ola 10th 23 22 17 24 21 Mark & Hayley 11th 22 24 17 Don & Lilia 12th 19 30 25 Jessie & Darren 13th Gary & Karen 14th Gillian & Anton 15th 22 Phil & Flavia 16th 20 Notes
Average chart This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 40-point scale. Couple Rank byaverage Totalpoints Number ofdances Totalaverage Rachel & Vincent 1st 573 16 35.8 Lisa & Brendan 2nd 557 34.8 Tom & Camilla3rd 55234.5 Austin & Erin 414 12 Cherie & James 5th 227 7 32.4 Christine & Matthew 6th 284 10 28.4 Jodie & Ian 7th 220 8 27.5 Heather & Brian 8th 149 6 24.8 Don & Lilia 9th 74 3 24.7 Gillian & Anton 10th 22 1 22.0 Andrew & Ola 11th 107 5 21.4 Phil & Flavia 12th 20 1 20.0 Mark & Hayley 13th 79 4 19.8 John & Kristina 14th 138 7 19.7 Jessie & Darren 15th 39 2 19.5 Gary & Karen 16th 35 17.5
Weekly scores Unless indicated otherwise, individual judges scores in the charts below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Arlene Phillips, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Week 1 Musical guest: Bette Midler — "Wind Beneath My Wings"
Only the male celebrities performed this week, and they performed either the cha-cha-cha or the waltz. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group cha-cha-cha that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Tom & Camilla 28 (6, 7, 8, 7) Cha-cha-cha "Nowhere to Run" — Martha and the Vandellas Safe Phil & Flavia 20 (4, 5, 6, 5) Waltz "I Have Nothing" — Whitney Houston Eliminated Don & Lilia 19 (3, 5, 6, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Let's Groove" — Earth, Wind & Fire Bottom two Austin & Erin 32 (7, 8, 9, 8) Waltz "The Rainbow Connection" — Sarah McLachlan Safe Mark & Hayley 22 (3, 6, 7, 6) Waltz "Tennessee Waltz" — Patti Page Safe Gary & Karen 17 (1, 5, 6, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Hippy Hippy Shake" — The Swinging Blue Jeans Safe John & Kristina 22 (5, 5, 6, 6) Waltz "Come Away with Me" — Norah Jones Safe Andrew & Ola 23 (4, 6, 7, 6) Cha-cha-cha "Mercy" — Duffy Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Phil & Flavia Phillips: Phil & Flavia Tonioli: Don & Lilia Goodman: Don & Lilia (Since the other judges were not unanimous, Len Goodman, as head judge, made the final decision to save Don & Lilia.)
Week 2 Musical guest: Sugababes — "Girls"
Only the female celebrities performed this week, and they performed either the foxtrot or the salsa. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group merengue that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Jessie & Darren 20 (4, 4, 6, 6) Salsa "Hey Mambo" — Barry Manilow Safe Christine & Matthew 27 (6, 6, 8, 7) Foxtrot "The Way You Look Tonight" — Frank Sinatra Safe Lisa & Brendan 22 (5, 5, 6, 6) Salsa "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" — Gloria Estefan Safe Jodie & Ian 25 (5, 6, 7, 7) Foxtrot "I've Got the World on a String" — Frank Sinatra Bottom two Heather & Brian 26 (5, 6, 8, 7) Salsa "La Banda" — Willie Colón Safe Gillian & Anton 22 (4, 5, 7, 6) Foxtrot "Razzle Dazzle" — Richard Gere Eliminated Rachel & Vincent 31 (7, 8, 8, 8) Salsa "Can't Buy Me Love" — The Beatles Safe Cherie & James 33 (8, 8, 9, 8) Foxtrot "Sweet About Me" — Gabriella Cilmi Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Jodie & Ian Phillips: Jodie & Ian Tonioli: Jodie & Ian Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jodie & Ian
Week 3 Musical guest: Andrea Bocelli — "Canto della Terra"
Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the jive or the tango. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group swing dance that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Austin & Erin 34 (8, 8, 9, 9) Jive "You Can't Stop the Beat" — from Hairspray Safe Mark & Hayley 24 (5, 5, 7, 7) Tango "Tanguera" — Sexteto Mayor Bottom two Gary & Karen 18 (3, 4, 6, 5) Jive "Lipstick, Powder and Paint" — Shakin' Stevens Eliminated John & Kristina 22 (3, 6, 6, 7) Tango "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" — Tony Bennett Safe Andrew & Ola 22 (4, 6, 7, 5) Tango "20th Century Boy" — T. Rex Safe Tom & Camilla 33 (7, 8, 9, 9) Jive "Black and Gold" — Sam Sparro Safe Don & Lilia 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Tango "Whatever Lola Wants" — Gotan Project Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Mark & Hayley Phillips: Mark & Hayley Tonioli: Mark & Hayley Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Mark & Hayley
Week 4 Musical guest: Simply Red — "Something Got Me Started"
Only half of the couples performed this week, and they performed either the quickstep or the rumba. The couples who did not compete this week performed a group rueda that was not scored. Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Christine & Matthew 26 (6, 6, 7, 7) Quickstep "She's So Lovely" — Scouting for Girls Safe Jodie & Ian 22 (4, 6, 6, 6) Rumba "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" — Michael Jackson Safe Heather & Brian 23 (6, 5, 6, 6) Quickstep "Old Man Time" — Jimmy Durante Bottom two Cherie & James 35 (9, 9, 8, 9) Rumba "Songbird" — Eva Cassidy Safe Jessie & Darren 19 (3, 5, 5, 6) Quickstep "Help!" — The Beatles Eliminated Lisa & Brendan 32 (8, 8, 8, 8) Rumba "Suddenly" — Billy Ocean Safe Rachel & Vincent 33 (8, 8, 9, 8) Quickstep "Little Green Bag" — George Baker Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Heather & Brian Phillips: Heather & Brian Tonioli: Heather & Brian Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jessie & Darren
Week 5 Musical guests: Alesha Dixon — "The Boy Does Nothing" Katherine Jenkins & Darcey Bussell — "Viva Tonight"
Couples performed either the American Smooth or the samba, and are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Rachel & Vincent 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Samba "Hips Don't Lie" — Shakira Safe Lisa & Brendan 35 (8, 9, 9, 9) American Smooth "It Happened in Monterey" — Frank Sinatra Safe Heather & Brian 23 (4, 6, 6, 7) Samba "Lola, Lola" — Andy Fortuna Bottom two Cherie & James 34 (7, 9, 9, 9) American Smooth "Layla" — Eric Clapton Safe Mark & Hayley 17 (3, 4, 5, 5) Samba "Spice Up Your Life" — Spice Girls Safe Don & Lilia 25 (6, 6, 7, 6) American Smooth "Can't Smile Without You" — Barry Manilow Eliminated Austin & Erin 32 (8, 8, 8, 8) Samba "Move Your Feet" — Junior Senior Safe Andrew & Ola 17 (3, 4, 5, 5) American Smooth "You Know I'm No Good" — Amy Winehouse Safe Christine & Matthew 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Samba "Baila, Baila Conmigo" — Rubén Gómez Safe Jodie & Ian30 (7, 7, 8, 8) American Smooth "Witchcraft" — Frank Sinatra Safe John & Kristina 16 (2, 4, 5, 5) Samba "Papa Loves Mambo" — Perry Como Safe Tom & Camilla 35 (8, 9, 9, 9) American Smooth "Chicago (That Toddlin' Town)" — Frank Sinatra Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Heather & Brian Phillips: Heather & Brian Tonioli: Heather & Brian Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Don & Lilia
Week 6 Musical guest: Enrique Iglesias — "Hero"
Couples performed either the paso doble or the Viennese waltz, and are listed in the order they performed.