Strictly Come Dancing: Celebrity partners revealed

Strictly Come Dancing celebrated its 20th year last year, with iconic moments, dances and outfits galore.

Let’s remind ourselves of some of the memorable moments from last year.

Dr Punam brought Bollywood music to the ballroom

Image source, BBC/Guy Levy

For the first time in the show’s 20-year history, TV doctor Punam Krishan and her partner Gorka Márquez performed to a traditional Bollywood song.

“I never saw Indian girls dancing on mainstream television, so to be doing now, an Indian dance, on a platform like Strictly, it’s huge,” she said.

JB Gill shimmied to the top of the leaderboard, despite partner change

Image source, BBC/Guy Levy

JB Gill was the first contestant in Strictly history to switch partners during the competition. His partner Amy Dowden pulled out with a foot injury after week six.

But by week 12, Gill and new partner Lauren Oakley scored their first perfect score with a salsa. They even made it to the final – finishing as runners up.

Montell and Johannes’ Carnival joy

Image source, BBC/Guy Levy

Gladiators star and former athlete Montell Douglas and partner Johannes Radebe brought Carnival joy to the the dancefloor, with an Afro-Caribbean fusion to represent the pair’s backgrounds.

Dancing to Skeleton Move by Master KG, it scored 39 in week five, with judge Motsi Mabuse saying the pair “exploded with energy”.

Chris McCausland’s ‘spectacular’ blackout dance moment

McCausland and his professional dancer partner Dianne Buswell – who went on to be crowned winners – performed in complete darkness as a way of highlighting the everyday challenges faced by blind and visually impaired people.

The Liverpudlian comedian, who lost his sight to retinitis pigmentosa in his 20s and 30s, was the first blind contestant to take part in the competition.

The often hard-to-impress Craig Revel Horwood described the “poignant blackout moment” as “absolutely spectacular”.