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Dianne Buswell and Chris McCausland© Guy Levy

Strictly Come Dancing week one's biggest moments: Chris McCausland's incredible dance, top scorers and more

Join us as we recap Strictly live!

Emmy Griffiths
TV & Film Editor
Updated: September 21, 2024
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Welcome to the return of Strictly Come Dancing's 20th anniversay series! After an exciting launch show where we met the celebrities and found out which pros they will be paired with throughout the dance competition, this is the week we've all been waiting for when we finally see what the stars are made of with their moves on the famous Strictly dance floor! 

MORE: Strictly star 'told off' ahead of week one performance

So join us as we recap week one of the competition in real-time - and make some early predictions for who will be lifting that coveted Glitterball trophy! 

Vito and the pros in the opening episode of Strictly© Kieron McCarron

Welcome back pros!

The pros have kicked off the show with some incredible moves - and BBC producers appear to have given audiences what they want with a shirtless Vito Coppola showing off his moves! 

MORE: Touching detail you may have missed from the Strictly launch show

Everyone is safe!© Ray Burmiston,BBC

Everyone is safe!

Reminder - no one is leaving the competition this week - so you can watch the show without any worries that anyone is going out! 

Neil Jones on Strictly© Ray Burmiston

Meet the pairings

We can't wait to see the stars' dance, especially since Neil Jones has a partner for the first time in a few years! Remind yourself on the partnerships here!

Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman

Claudi and Tess wow in gorgeous outfits

How fabulous do our hosts Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly look tonight? 

Nick Knowles dancing with Luba Mushtuk

Happy Birthday Nick!

Up first was birthday boy Nick Knowles with Luba Mustuk trying his hand at the jive! The feedback was a little bit mixed, with Craig Revel Horwood calling him 'pigeon-toed' - but Nick said he loved it - and we loved watching him!

MORE: Inside Nick Knowles', 61, relationship with fiancée Katie Dadzie, 33, he doesn't live with

The scores 

Craig: 3 

Motsi: 5

Shirley: 5 

Anton: 5 

Total: 18 

Strictly Come Dancing's Claudia Winkleman, Tess Daly© BBC/Rob Parfitt

A brilliant first for Strictly

Happy reminder that Strictly is now more accessible for audiences than ever with the live shows being signed and offering audio description for the very first time on BBC iPlayer by using the red button. Enjoy!

Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin on Strictly week one

Next up, Nikita and Sam

Sam Quek is going the Foxtrot with Nikita Kushmin - and the pair seem to be getting on like a house of fire already! 

Craig said it had "chemistry" and "much to look forward to," while Motsi said Sam was "shining". Yay!

Scores

Craig: 6

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 6

Anton: 5 

Total: 23

Nancy Xu and Shayne Ward took to the dance floor

Shayne and Nancy take to the floor

Shayne and Nancy are giving the Glitterball trophy a run for their money with their glittery ensembles for this fabulous Samba!

Speaking about the movies, Motsi said there were "details missing", but praised his energy and spins. Shirley said he had a "beautiful sense of freedom," but gave him constructive criticism about his paired work. 

Scores

Craig: 4

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 5

Anton: 6

Total: 21

Chris McCausland is partnered with Dianne Buswell© Ray Burmiston

Nerves

If you were wondering if the celebs really are nervous when taking to the dance floor for the live shows, Chris McCausland shared his thoughts ahead of the show, tweeting: "Today is the day. The actual day. Not that Last pre-recorded day. The actual first dance - live on the telly - don't balls it up - spend five hours sat on the toilet day. Yikes!" 

Goodness!

Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones

Toyah Wilcox and Neil Jones Tango to the top

Wow that was certainly something! Toyah and Neil took to the dance floor for a rocky performance - and we have to admit that we're very impressed by Toyah's hair flicking prowess!

MORE: Inside Claudia Winkleman's private wedding and 24-year marriage with towering husband

Unfortunately the judges weren't too keen, with Shirley saying: "Unfortunately sometimes less is more." 

Scores

Craig: 2

Motsi: 4

Shirley: 2

Anton: 4

Total: 12

Strictly's Tasha and Aljaz© Guy Levy

Amazing moves!

The show's second-ever deaf star Tasha Ghouri is up next with the prodigal son returning, Aljaz Skorjanec! With Aljaz out of retirement and the Love Island star already a dancing pro, we suspect that this perforance is going to be excellent! 

MORE: Inside Tasha Ghouri’s relationship with Andrew Le Page – from Love Island ups and downs to matching tattoos

And we were right! Anton, Shirley and Motsi were all full of praise, while Craig said: "Slay, slay, slay!" And the moment that Tasha took out her cochlear implant to feel the moment? Amazing!

Scores

Craig: 8 

Motsi: 8

Shirley: 7

Anton: 7 

Total: 30 

Amy Dowden back on Strictly

Welcome back Amy!

*Screams* AMYYYYY! We couldn't be happier that she is back!

Amy Dowden and JB Gill's beautiful waltz

Amy returns with beautiful Waltz with JB Gill

Amy danced a waltz with JB Gill, and received a standing ovation from the audience, and were thrilled when they had amazing comments from the judges - with Motsi even shutting down Craig's critique! 

Scores

Craig: 7

Motsi: 8

Shirley: 8

Anton: 8

Total: 31

Pete Wicks took on the Paso Doble

Pete and Jowita do the Paso

Pete Wicks and Jowita Przystał took to the dancefloor to take on a rock star turn at the Paso Doble. Motsi loved Pete's "fire," but the other judges weren't entirely convinced by the dance. But as Tess says, it's week one! IT'S WEEK ONE! 

Scores

Craig: 4

Motsi: 5

Shirley: 3

Anton: 5

Total: 17


Craig Revel Horwood with Tess Daly

Craig's beard, yay or nay?

Quick question, what do we think of Craig's beard? Do we love it? 

Sarah Hadland dancing with Vito Coppola© Guy Levy

Working 9-5 with Sarah and Vito

Fully respect and understand Sarah's utter delight to have Vito as a dance partner. Relatable Queen! 

This pair wowed with their moves in the Quickstep, with Craig calling it "fantastic!" The scores landed the highest Quickstep score that early in the show's history!

Scores

Craig: 8

Motsi: 8

Shirley: 7

Anton: 7 

Total: 30 


Tom's departure came as a shock to fans© Ray Burmiston

They're so golden

How AMAZING were Nadiya Bychkova and Tom Dean? Motsi was full of praise, but said they needed more staccato. Shirley told them what they needed to work on by using Motsi as an example, and later told Tom that he could be a "magnificant" ballroom dancer. 

Scores

Craig: 5

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 6

Anton: 6

Total: 23

Gorka Marquez & Dr Punam Krishan© Guy Levy

The doctor is in the house!

Dr Punam Krishan - who is continuing working as a doctor throughout the show - and Gorka Marquez were described as "another great partnership" thanks to their fabulous moves! 

Scores

Craig: 4

Motsi: 5

Shirley: 5

Anton: 5

Total: 19

Arsenal legend Paul Merson with Karen Hauer

Paul Merson and Karen Hauer

We don't know why, but we THINK that maybe Paul has something to do with the beautiful game of football? The pair danced an American Smooth to Vindaloo by Fat Les.

Scores

Craig: 2

Motsi: 4

Shirley: 5

Anton: 6

Total: 17

Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas

Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas

Wow, how amazing was that?! The pair wowed with a stunning routine of a Viennese Waltz to Benson Boone's Beautiful Things. 

Scores: 

Craig: 6

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 5

Anton: 6

Total: 23

Chris McCausland & Dianne Buswell took to the dancefloor© Guy Levy

Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell

The show's first ever blind contestant Chris was partnered with Dianne Buswell for a fantastically impressive Cha Cha. The pair received a standing ovation while Chris pretended to collapse with relief! 

Speaking about the routine, Shirley defended Chris from Craig's critique, with Motsi saying: "We saw those Cha Cha walks. I hope you felt the energy in this room. You gave absolutely everything! You brought the Cha Cha to the room!" 

Scores: 

Craig: 4

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 6

Anton: 7

Total: 23

WATCH: Strictly stars Chris and Dianne receive standing ovation for Cha Cha
Montell proved to be a star last week© Ray Burmiston

Montell and Jojo

As Tess said, a star is born! Montell Douglas wowed in her partnership with Johannes Radebe in a Foxtrot to Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby?. How stunning was their dance?!

Scores: 

Craig: 6

Motsi: 7

Shirley: 6

Anton: 7

Total: 26

Katya Jones and Wynne Evans on Strictly

Last but not least...

It's Wynn and Katya! The pair performed the Samba - and it had all of the markings of Katya's fantastic choreography - but were the judges impressed? 

Anton said: "Joyous! Thank you very much." Craig added: "It did put a smile on my face." 

Scores: 

Craig: 6

Motsi: 6

Shirley: 7

Anton: 7

Total: 26

Top of the leaderboard week one

Top of the leaderboard

Check out the leaderboard! JB and Amy took the top spot, while Sarha and Vito, and Tasha and Aljaz are in joint second. Who do you think deserved the top spot?!

Bottom half of the leaderboard

Bottom half of the leaderboard

Toyah and Neil were at the bottom of the leaderboard with just 12 points, while Karen and Paul were in penultimate place with 17. 

And that's it! We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. Keep dancing!

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