Strictly Come Dancing returned for its twelfth series beginning from 7 September 2014 with a launch show, and the live shows began on 26 and 27 September.
After Sir Bruce Forsyth announced his departure from the show at the end of the previous series (He would continue to host the Christmas and Children in Need specials) Tess Daly returned to present the main show on BBC One alongside Claudia Winkleman, who was promoted to co-presenter in addition to the results show, this change would last for 12 additional series until 2025. Zoe Ball returned as presenter of the spin-off show Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two on BBC Two. Judges Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman, Craig Revel Horwood, and Bruno Tonioli also returned.
The shows from 1 to 16 November were hosted by Daly and Zoe Ball, after one of Winkleman's children was involved in an accident. Winkleman returned to co-host the show on 22 November.
Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev were announced as the winners on 20 December, while Simon Webbe and Kristina Rihanoff, and Frankie Bridge and Kevin Clifton were the runners-up.
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.
Professional dancers On 1 June 2014, it was revealed that Artem Chigvintsev, Anya Garnis, and James Jordan would not return as professionals, but that Garnis would still be part of the choreography team. They were replaced by two new professionals, Joanne Clifton and Tristan MacManus, as well as Natalie Lowe, who returned after missing the last series due to a foot injury. On 6 August, it was announced that Robin Windsor would not be competing as a professional in the series as previously announced due to a back injury; he was replaced by Trent Whiddon.
Couples This series featured fifteen celebrity contestants. Frankie Bridge was the first contestant announced on 13 August, and additional celebrities were announced throughout the month. The full line-up was revealed by the BBC on 29 August. Celebrity Notability Professional partner Status Gregg Wallace MasterChef judge Aliona Vilani Eliminated 1ston 5 October 2014 Jennifer Gibney Mrs. Brown's Boys actress Tristan MacManus Eliminated 2ndon 12 October 2014 Tim Wonnacott Bargain Hunt presenter & antiques expert Natalie Lowe Eliminated 3rdon 19 October 2014 Thom Evans Scotland rugby player & model Iveta Lukošiūtė Eliminated 4thon 26 October 2014 Scott Mills BBC Radio 1 presenter Joanne Clifton Eliminated 5thon 2 November 2014 Television presenter Aljaž Škorjanec Eliminated 6thon 9 November 2014 Judy Murray Tennis coach & British Fed Cup captain Anton Du Beke Eliminated 7thon 16 November 2014 Steve Backshall Naturalist, author & television presenter Ola Jordan Eliminated 8thon 23 November 2014 Sunetra Sarker Casualty actress Brendan Cole Eliminated 9thon 30 November 2014 Pixie Lott Singer-songwriter Trent Whiddon Eliminated 10thon 7 December 2014 Jake Wood EastEnders actor Janette Manrara Eliminated 11thon 14 December 2014 Mark Wright The Only Way Is Essex star Karen Hauer Fourth placeon 20 December 2014 Frankie Bridge The Saturdays singer Kevin Clifton Runners-upon 20 December 2014 Simon Webbe Blue singer & actor Kristina Rihanoff Caroline Flack Television presenter Pasha Kovalev Winnerson 20 December 2014
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 12 – Weekly scores Couple Week 1 2 1+2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Caroline & Pasha 1st 27 29 56 42 34 32 31 37 33 39+3= 35+40= 40+40= +40= Frankie & Kevin 2nd 30 60 32 32 32 37 36 34+5=39 34+38=72 39+38=77 +39= Simon & Kristina 27 26 53 30 31 28 29 33 36 38 35+4=39 30+38=68 39+39=78 +40=118 Mark & Karen 4th 24 27 51 35 29 33 35 31 36 32 32 35+2= 33+33=66 35+35= Jake & Janette 5th 28 40 31 29 27 36 29 38+1=39 30+31= Pixie & Trent 6th 27 62 43 32 33 37 38 35+6=41 7th 24 26 50 40 27 30 27 31 30 30 Steve & Ola 8th 26 21 47 34 27 30 26 28 31 Judy & Anton 9th 18 23 22 Alison & Aljaž 10th 26 22 48 28 27 23 26 27 Scott & Joanne 11th 20 36 25 19 21 Thom & Iveta 12th 23 25 48 38 30 27 Tim & Natalie 13th 18 23 41 19 Jennifer & Tristan 14th 18 19 37 23 Gregg & Aliona 15th 18 18 36 Notes
Average chart This table only counts for dances scored on a traditional 40-point scale. Donny Osmond’s scores from Week 3 have been removed accordingly. Couple Rank byaverage Totalpoints Number ofdances Totalaverage Caroline & Pasha 1st 562 16 35.1 Frankie & Kevin 2nd 561 Pixie & Trent 3rd 380 11 34.5 Simon & Kristina 4th 530 16 33.1 Jake & Janette 5th 417 13 32.1 Mark & Karen 6th 476 15 31.7 Sunetra & Brendan 7th 284 10 28.4 Thom & Iveta 8th 136 5 27.2 Steve & Ola 9th 240 9 26.7 Alison & Aljaž 10th 172 7 24.6 Judy & Anton 11th 155 8 19.4 Tim & Natalie 12th 77 4 19.3 Jennifer & Tristan 13th 55 3 18.3 Scott & Joanne 14th 109 6 18.2 Gregg & Aliona 15th 36 2 18.0
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, Darcey Bussell, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Week 1 Six of the couples performed on the first night and the other nine couples performed on the second night. There was no elimination this week; all scores and votes carried over to the following week. Couples are listed in the order they performed.
Night 1 (Friday) CoupleScoresDanceMusic Caroline & Pasha 27 (6, 7, 7, 7) Cha-cha-cha "Can You Feel It" — The Jacksons Tim & Natalie 18 (3, 5, 5, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Shop Around" — Captain & Tennille Jake & Janette 28 (7, 7, 7, 7) Tango "Toxic" — Britney Spears Judy & Anton 18 (3, 4, 6, 5) Waltz "Mull of Kintyre" — Wings Scott & Joanne 16 (2, 4, 5, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Rock DJ" — Robbie Williams Pixie & Trent 27 (7, 6, 7, 7) Jive "Shake It Off" — Taylor Swift Night 2 (Saturday) CoupleScoresDanceMusic Mark & Karen 24 (5, 7, 6, 6) Cha-cha-cha "I'm Your Man" — Wham! Alison & Aljaž 26 (6, 6, 7, 7) Cha-cha-cha "I'm Every Woman" — Chaka Khan Steve & Ola 26 (6, 6, 7, 7) Tango "Born to Be Wild" — Steppenwolf Jennifer & Tristan 18 (3, 5, 5, 5) Jive "Happy" — Pharrell Williams Thom & Iveta 23 (5, 6, 6, 6) Waltz "You Raise Me Up" — Westlife Sunetra & Brendan 24 (5, 6, 6, 7) Tango "Bad Case of Loving You (Doctor, Doctor)" — Robert Palmer Gregg & Aliona 18 (3, 5, 5, 5) Cha-cha-cha "Hot n Cold" — Katy Perry Frankie & Kevin 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Waltz "Someone Like You" — Adele Simon & Kristina 27 (6, 7, 7, 7) Jive "Good Golly, Miss Molly" — Little Richard
Week 2 Musical guest: Nina Simone — "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood"
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusicResult Thom & Iveta 25 (5, 7, 7, 6) Salsa "Hot Hot Hot" — Arrow Safe Jennifer & Tristan 19 (4, 5, 5, 5) Waltz "A Natural Woman" — Aretha Franklin Bottom two Simon & Kristina 26 (5, 7, 7, 7) Tango "Sing" — Ed Sheeran Safe Gregg & Aliona 18 (3, 5, 5, 5) Charleston "Hey, Good Lookin'" — Ray Charles Eliminated Alison & Aljaž 22 (5, 5, 6, 6) Foxtrot "I Just Want to Make Love to You" — Etta James Safe Jake & Janette 35 (8, 9, 9, 9) Salsa "Mambo No. 5" — Lou Bega Safe Judy & Anton 17 (2, 5, 5, 5) Cha-cha-cha "She's a Lady" — Tom Jones Safe Caroline & Pasha 29 (7, 7, 7, 8) Tango "Blame" — Calvin Harris Safe Tim & Natalie 23 (5, 6, 6, 6) Waltz "When You Wish upon a Star" — Cliff Edwards Safe Sunetra & Brendan 26 (6, 6, 7, 7) Cha-cha-cha "Million Dollar Bill" — Whitney Houston Safe Mark & Karen 27 (6, 7, 7, 7) American Smooth "I'm Yours" — Jason Mraz Safe Scott & Joanne 20 (4, 5, 6, 5) Tango "Stop" — Spice Girls Safe Pixie & Trent 35 (8, 9, 9, 9) Waltz "Come Away with Me" — Norah Jones Safe Steve & Ola 21 (3, 6, 6, 6) Cha-cha-cha "Treasure" — Bruno Mars Safe Frankie & Kevin 30 (7, 7, 8, 8) Charleston "Happy Days" — Pratt & McClain Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Jennifer & Tristan Bussell: Jennifer & Tristan Tonioli: Jennifer & Tristan Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Jennifer & Tristan
Week 3: Movie Week Individual judges scores given in the chart below (given in parentheses) are listed in this order from left to right: Craig Revel Horwood, Darcey Bussell, Donny Osmond, Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli.
Musical guest: Donny Osmond — "Moon River"
Couples are listed in the order they performed. CoupleScoresDanceMusic FilmResult Alison & Aljaž 28 (4, 5, 7, 6, 6) Jive "Footloose" Footloose Safe Steve & Ola 34 (6, 7, 6, 7, 8) Quickstep "I Wan'na Be Like You" The Jungle Book Safe Jennifer & Tristan 23 (3, 5, 5, 5, 5) Foxtrot "Mamma Mia" Mamma Mia! Eliminated Simon & Kristina 30 (4, 6, 7, 6, 7) Rumba "Take My Breath Away" Top Gun Bottom two Judy & Anton 23 (3, 5, 5, 5, 5) Quickstep "Don't Rain on My Parade" Funny Girl Safe Tim & Natalie 22 (2, 5, 5, 5, 5) Charleston "Money, Money" Cabaret Safe Caroline & Pasha 42 (8, 8, 9, 8, 9) Rumba "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" Armageddon Safe Scott & Joanne 25 (2, 5, 7, 5, 6) Samba "Under the Sea" The Little Mermaid Safe Frankie & Kevin 45 (8, 9, 10, 9, 9) Paso doble "America" West Side Story Safe Jake & Janette 40 (8, 8, 8, 8, 8) Waltz "The Godfather Waltz" The Godfather Safe Pixie & Trent 43 (7, 9, 9, 9, 9) Quickstep "Be Our Guest" Beauty and the Beast Safe Thom & Iveta 38 (7, 8, 7, 8, 8) Charleston "New York, New York" On the Town Safe Sunetra & Brendan 40 (7, 8, 8, 9, 8) American Smooth "The Way You Look Tonight" Swing Time Safe Mark & Karen 35 (6, 6, 9, 7, 7) Paso doble "Superman Theme" Superman Safe Judges' votes to save Horwood: Simon & Kristina Bussell: Simon & Kristina Osmond: Simon & Kristina Tonioli: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Simon & Kristina Goodman: Did not vote, but would have voted to save Simon & Kristina
Week 4 Musical guests: Lady Gaga & Tony Bennett — "Anything Goes" & "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)"
Couples are listed in the order they performed.