Strictly 2026, Week 1. Last week I wondered whether Emma Willis would be the glue holding the new Strictly presenting team together. One live show later and I might have called that slightly too soon.
Emma seemed nervous, Josh was doing an awful lot and, at times, it felt as though he was overshadowing her. I’m still not sure how the three-presenter arrangement is going to work once they settle into it, but I’m prepared to give them time. It was their first proper live show and, if nothing else, nobody fell down the stairs or swore before the watershed.
Johannes seemed more comfortable up in the Clauditorium (which will forever be called the Clauditorium even though Ms Winkleman has rudely abandoned us) however there was a strange production issue when the couples were coming up the stairs. Jojo was talking to camera, but the camera remained on the dancers, so we could neither see nor properly hear him. If he’s delivering a line or some support, we need to see and hear that. Who do I write to at the BBC? Where is 'Points Of View' when you need it?
A few viewers have suggested rotating the three presenters between roles each week. I can see the thinking behind it, but constantly moving them around won’t give any of them the chance to settle. The production team seems to have decided who belongs where, even if we don't agree.
Meanwhile, Motsi has apparently decided that Shirley is now “Miss Shirley”, like she’s the resident dance teacher, while she herself sets out her own judging stall in the firm-but-fair category!
Motsi also nailed the disagreement over the freestyle content in Cach and Maddie’s Quickstep. I liked the freestyle element, but Craig had a valid point from a judging and scoring perspective. If a dance is being presented as a Quickstep, the rules and required content still have to matter. Motsi’s insistence that you should learn the rules so you can break them was genius. Respect the dance first, then add the freestyle. Don’t replace the actual dance with it and still expect the points.
The scoring was exactly as restrained as we’ve come to expect, by which I mean not restrained at all. Anton has already screwed with the scoring scale by handing out 7s like they’re Jelly Babies, so perhaps it was inevitable that we’d see an 8 in Week One. That doesn’t discredit John and Katya’s score, though. Their Foxtrot was comfortably the best dance of the night and Motsi and Shirley also gave it an 8, so Anton wasn’t alone.
However, an 8 in Week One is basically a 10 trimmed up in Carlos's fur coat. Where do we go from here?
A low score in Week One doesn’t automatically mean it was a bad dance. It gives the couples a starting point. With more training, more experience and a few weeks of learning how to perform live, the scores should increase. If everyone is receiving 6s and 7s for their first dance, there isn’t much room left to show that improvement.
The audience also needs to stop booing every time a judge produces anything below a 6. In later weeks, it will be anything below a 7. The judges are there to give an expert opinion, not choose the number that gets the nicest reaction from the crowd. If a dance doesn’t deserve a 7, what is the point of giving it one? PACK IT IN!
Delta and Kai’s Samba was confident, controlled and had definite shades of Oti and Danny about it. I’m not putting it in the same league as
Magalenha just yet, but that is a promising comparison after one dance. Also, who gave Kai this glow-up? The hair, the fire-waving and the more relaxed personality are all working for him. He usually looks tall, yet somehow resembles a shortarse next to Delta. He will love her height when they get into ballroom hold, though, and I’m still hoping she brings out even more of his cheeky side as the series goes on.
Lacey and Vito are definitely ones to watch too. She looked nervous in the launch show and, during the introductions at the top of this week’s programme, she had the expression of someone who would rather be anywhere else. Despite the unnecessary faffing at the beginning of their Cha Cha, once the dancing started she was great. She had plenty of energy and looked far more comfortable performing than I expected. Vito obviously performed enough for both of them, the studio audience and several neighbouring counties.
Jowita and Lawrence also looked like an interesting partnership. As Vanessa put it during our Facebook watch-party, “Jowita could make a telephone pole look good.” Lawrence definitely isn’t a telephone pole, but it remains a fair assessment of Jowita’s ability to get something watchable out of almost anybody.
Dani and Nikita’s Samba did nothing to change my opinion from Launch Night. It certainly didn’t look like the result of twelve months of secret lessons, but it wasn’t bad either. Dani had good Samba posture, brought plenty of energy and looked as though she was enjoying herself. She needs to point her feet more, but there was a solid foundation there and obvious room for improvement, which is exactly what I want to see from a Week One dance.
Chris and Amy’s Tango was a bit of a mixed bag. This is entirely about how Amy comes across on Strictly rather than her credentials, because she is an award-winning dancer with major Latin titles to her name. Even so, I’ve always thought she looks most at home in traditional, in-hold ballroom. The harder-edged ballroom dances and more forceful Latin choreography never seem to sit quite as naturally on her. I’m interested to see what Chris can do when they get something that plays more to that softer, traditional side.
At the other end of the leaderboard, Shaun and Melanie looked like the weakest links. That doesn’t mean either of them is doomed, especially when nobody leaves in Week One, but both will need a noticeable improvement next week. Dame Sarah also scored low, although there felt like much more potential in her Quickstep than that number suggests.
My early favourite is still Jaime Winstone, even if her Tango didn’t quite deliver the moment I’d hoped for. There’s something about her that makes me want her to be good, which is obviously an entirely scientific method of judging a dance competition.
TL;DR - Nobody went home, the judges found their 8 paddles worryingly quickly and all fifteen couples have survived long enough to experience Movie Week.
Except... Movie Week is next week. What absolute nonsense is this?
Movie Week traditionally belongs in Week Three, after we’ve had two relatively normal dances and at least one elimination. We’ve barely worked out who can dance yet and now they’re all going to be covered in wigs, costumes and enough themed prop-faffing to disguise half the footwork. Some of these couples need another week to learn the basics, not three days spent pretending to be Shrek.
I enjoy Movie Week for what it is, but this is far too early. We haven’t earned the themed nonsense yet.
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Strictly Come Dancing 2026 Week One: Dances, Songs and Scores
| Show Order | Celebrity | Professional | Dance | Song | Artist | Craig | Motsi | Shirley | Anton | Total |
| 1 | Will Best | Dianne Buswell | Samba | Rock DJ | Robbie Williams | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 18 |
| 2 | Tabby Stoecker | Mark Karmalita | Jive | Gnarly | KATSEYE | 4 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 22 |
| 3 | Dame Sarah Storey | Julian Caillon | Quickstep | C’est Magnifique | Kay Starr | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 15 |
| 4 | Lawrence Robb | Jowita Przystał | Paso Doble | Aperture | Harry Styles | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| 5 | Shaun Wright-Phillips | Alexis Warr | Cha Cha Cha | Lil Boo Thang | Paul Russell | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| 6 | Bethany Antonia | Nancy Xu | Quickstep | Stop This Flame | Celeste | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 |
| 7 | Lacey Turner | Vito Coppola | Cha Cha Cha | How Will I Know | Whitney Houston | 7 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 27 |
| 8 | Chris Appleton | Amy Dowden | Tango | No Roots | Alice Merton | 3 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 16 |
| 9 | Melanie Walters | Aljaž Škorjanec | Cha Cha Cha | Don’t Go Breaking My Heart | Elton John and Kiki Dee | 2 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 15 |
| 10 | Cach Mercer | Maddie Ingoldsby | Quickstep | I Just Might | Bruno Mars | 3 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| 11 | Graeme Hall | Lauren Oakley | Cha Cha Cha | Hound Dog | Smokey Joe’s Café cast | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 24 |
| 12 | Jaime Winstone | Carlos Gu | Tango | I Feel Love | Donna Summer | 5 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 21 |
| 13 | Dani Dyer | Nikita Kuzmin | Samba | Lush Life | Zara Larsson | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
| 14 | John Nellis | Katya Jones | Foxtrot | Ordinary | Alex Warren | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 31 |
| 15 | Delta Goodrem | Kai Widdrington | Samba | Baianá | Barbatuques | 7 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 29 |
