Strictly Come Dancing 2021: Contestants and their First Dances

Nia Thomas

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Week 1 of Strictly Come Dancing 2021 aired on Saturday 25^th September with the couples taking to the dance floor for the first time. The evening began with a professional’s group dance to Vanessa Carlton’s ‘A Thousand Miles’.

Here’s a rundown of the contestants and the responses to their first dances.

Tom Fletcher

Musician and author Tom Fletcher, best known for being in McFly. He is partnered with Amy Dowden, a Welsh dancer who joined the show in 2017. The couple danced the Cha Cha Cha to ‘September’ by Earth, Wind and Fire and were awarded 21 out of 40, although fans felt Craig’s score of 4 was harsh.

Fletcher and dance partner Amy Dowden have since tested positive for coronavirus, ruling them out of Week 2. The couple are expected to return to the competition for Week 3. This follows as reports emerged that there are three professional dancers who have rejected the jab, although their identities have been protected.

Tilly Ramsey

Tilly, daughter of Gordon Ramsey and prolific TikTok-er is partnered with Nikita Kuzmin, one of four professionals who are new to Strictly Come Dancing this year. The couple also scored 21 for their Waltz to Camila Cabello’s ‘Consequences’.

Ugo Monye

Former England rugby player and newly appointed A Question of Sport captain Ugo danced the Samba with fan-favourite and sister of judge Motsi, Oti. Their dance to the song Iko Iko (My Bestie) by Justin Wellington ft. Small Jam, which has been popularised by TikTok, achieved them 18.

Ugo had sadly attended his father’s funeral that morning and said the dance was a brilliant way to “honour him and celebrate his life”.

Rhys Stephenson

CBBC presenter whose credits include Blue Peter, Saturday Mash-Up!, The Dengineers and Newsround is paired with Nancy Xu, another new professional dancer. Their Viennese Waltz to ‘End of the Road’ by Boyz II Men was well received, with Shirley complimenting his “elegance, poise and leadership”, noting that he is “one to watch”. The couple received a score of 27.

Sara Davies

Businesswoman and Dragon’s Den regular Sara Davies has always been a fan of Strictly Come Dancing, joking that she became a Dragon with the hope of it leading the way to the show. She and her partner – veteran of the game – Aljaž danced another Cha Cha Cha to ‘The Boss’ by Diana Ross, scoring 17.

Dan Walker

BBC Breakfast journalist and Football Focus presenter Dan Walker danced the Quickstep with partner Nadiya Bychkova. Their dance to the Blues Brothers’ ‘Everybody Needs Somebody’ scored them a very respectable 24.

Rose Ayling-Ellis

EastEnders star Rose has made history this year as Strictly’s first deaf contestant. Dancing alongside Giovanni Pernice to Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake it Off’, Rose largely impressed the judges scoring 22. Head judge Shirley Ballas has, however, faced criticism for only awarding the couple a 4.

Katie McGlynn

Soap star Katie danced the Tango to ‘Black Hole’ by Griff with partner Gorka Marquez and impressed with their ‘fierce… drama and characterisation’. The couple achieved another solid score of 22.

Robert Webb

Actor and author best known for playing Jez in Peep Show, Robert Webb, is paired with professional fan-favourite Dianne Buswell who rose to prominence after dating her 2018 partner, Youtuber Joe Sugg. They danced the Cha Cha Cha to ‘Rasputin’ by Boney M and were awarded a respectable 20 from the judges.

Greg Wise

Actor Greg Wise, known for his role as Lord Mountbatten in series one and two of The Crown and being married to British acting icon Emma Thompson is paired with Karen Hauer, in her 9^th run of the series.  The judges liked their American Smooth to Sinatra’s ‘That’s Life’, scoring them 24.

Nina Wadia

Actress and comedian best known for playing the iconic Zainab Masood on BBC’s EastEnders Nina Wadia is paired with Neil Jones. The paid danced the Samba to ‘Mi Gente’ by J Balvin, Willy William ft. Beyoncé and impressed the judges with the notoriously difficult dance, achieving 24.

John Whaite

Winner of series 3 of The Great British Bake Off John Whaite will make history with partner Johannes Radebe as the show’s first male same-sex pairing, following on from the trailblazing Nicola Adams and Katya last year. The couple’s Tango to New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ was full to the brim with drama and sent them straight to the top of the leader board with 30 points.

Judi Love

Comedian Judi danced the American Smooth with partner Graziano Di Prima to Aretha Franklin’s ‘Chain of Fools’ and scored another 24. Judges praised Judi’s natural ‘diva-ness’ and said the couple have great chemistry.

AJ Odudu

TV presenter AJ is paired with Kai Widdrington, another newbie. The couple did the Jive to ‘Gold Dust’ by DJ Fresh. The couple seriously impressed the judges, with Anton suggesting it is one of the best jives the show has ever seen (he’s obviously forgotten Jay McGuiness’ ICONIC Pulp Fiction inspired routine from 2015…). AJ and Kai quickly knocked John and Johannes off the top of the leaderboard with a score of 34.

Adam Peaty

Back from a successful gold medal win at Tokyo 2020, Adam Peaty is dancing with Katya Jones. The coupled danced another Cha Cha Cha to ‘Beggin’ by Eurovision 2021 winners, Måneskin. The judges enjoyed their dance, scoring them 30.

Week 1 Leaderboard

1.     AJ & Kai (34)

=     Adam & Katya (30)

=     John & Johannes (30)

4.     Rhys & Nancy (27)

5.     Dan & Nadiya (24)

=     Greg & Karen (24)

=     Judi & Graziano (24)

=     Nina & Neil (24)

9.     Katie & Gorka (22)

=     Rose & Giovanni (22)

11.   Tilly & Nikita (21)

=     Tom & Amy (21)

13.   Robert & Dianne (20)

14.   Ugo & Oti (18)

15.   Sara & Aljaž (17)

All in all, they’re looking to be a pretty strong bunch. AJ, Adam and John are clearly the ones to watch but there are definitely some surprises in there, waiting to be revealed as the series unravels.

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Photo by Honey Fangs on Unsplash. Image license found here. No changes have been made to this image.