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Strictly Come Dancing

If you love "Dancing with the Stars", you should know that it was based on a Saturday night BBC show called "Strictly Come Dancing". In fact, two of the "Dancing with the Stars" judges - Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli - are also judges on "Strictly Come Dancing".

The show began airing on BBC in 2004. The format is the same as "Dancing with the Stars" - celebrities are paired with professional ballroom dancers. Each week they must compete against each other and the dancers are judged by a panel of four. Each judge may give a couple a score up to 10, with a 40 being a perfect score. The judges are Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Arlene Phillips, and Craig Revel Horwood. You know Bruno and Len from "Dancing with the Stars". Arlene Phillips, a choreographer, is often said to be a female version of Simon. She can be very critical of the dancers in her judging. However, it seems that lately even she has been outdone by the comments of Craig Revel Horwood, an Australian dancer, choreographer, and theatre director. He is often the recipient of audience boos due to his harsh comments for the contestants.

In addition to the weekly show, for the last three years, there has been a "Strictly Come Dancing" Christmas special shown in December. There was a one-time special "Strictly Ice Dancing" that paired celebrities with professional ice skaters. In 2005, BBC aired "Strictly African Dancing" which paired celebrities of African descent with members of a professional African dance troupe.

Who is eliminated each week is based partially on the judge's scores and partially on the telephone poll. The first year, British journalist and newscaster Natasha Kaplinsky and her partner Brendan Cole were the winners. Season two was won by actress Jill Halfpenny and her partner Darren Bennett. It was not until season three that a male won the contest. Darren Gough, a cricketer who is captain of the Yorkshire Country Cricket Club and his partner Lilia Kopylova were crowned the champions. Season four saw the men win again with another cricketer, MarkRamprakash and his partner Karen Hardy winning in the finals.

In the history of the show, there have been very few perfect scores awarded. Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett were awarded a 40 in the second season finale when they performed the Jive. Darren Gough and Lila Kopylova got a 40 dancing the Quickstep during the 2005 Christmas Special. The season four finale saw Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy get a 40 for their version of the salsa. Finally, during the 2006 Christmas Special, Colin Jackson, a Welsh athlete, and Erin Boag were awarded a 40 for their Quickstep. The lowest score ever awarded was 8 out of 40. That went to TV newscaster Quentin Willson and Hazel Newberry for their Cha Cha Cha. They were the first couple eliminated in season two.

"Strictly Come Dancing" is one of the biggest Saturday night hits for the BBC in the past few years. The last season finale was the 4th highest watched television show of the year.

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