The BBC has announced a new Strictly Come Dancing spin-off series, hosted by former contestant Tyler West and comedian Abi Clarke. The show, titled Strictly: Lights Up, will begin next Sunday, October 4, on BBC iPlayer.
The latest season of the hit BBC show returned to screens last week with a fresh batch of celebrities. The first live show aired this weekend featuring new hosts Emma Willis, Johannes Radebe and Josh Widdicombe, who took over from Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly. The couples took to the floor for the very first time, and as it was the first live show, no one was eliminated and no results show took place that night.
What the new spin-off offers
Hosts Tyler and Abi will “take viewers straight on to the Strictly dancefloor for immediate reactions from the night’s eliminated couple, their dance off opponents – plus the judges, new hosts, other Strictly stars and studio guests”. The show will be available on BBC iPlayer every Sunday night immediately after the results show has finished.
BBC iPlayer will also launch a new dedicated Strictly hub, featuring weekly training room episodes where Abi visits different Strictly couples in rehearsals, as well as a weekly highlights show to round up the week of Strictly Come Dancing. Every dance of the series will be available to watch individually, and a new feature will allow viewers to scroll through each episode in chapters, letting them “easily jump between their favourite couples and revisit unmissable Strictly moments”.
Reaction from the production team
BBC Studios senior executive producer Sarah James said the new exclusives would “bring viewers closer to Strictly than ever before”. She said Lights Up would be a “post-results show like no other – taking you straight on to the Strictly dancefloor for all of the immediate reaction that previously remained unseen”.
She added: “Across the main shows, BBC iPlayer and Strictly socials, there’s never been so much for Strictly fans to enjoy.”
Launch episode viewing figures
A peak of 5.8 million viewers tuned in to the Strictly Come Dancing launch episode last weekend, which revealed the pairings for the new series. The full list of partnerships includes Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin, Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu, Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu, Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola, Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec, Delta Goodrem and Kai Widdrington, Dame Sarah Storey and Julian Caillon, Will Best and Dianne Buswell, Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby, Chris Appleton and Amy Dowden, Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr, Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita, Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal, and Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley.
Strictly: Lights Up begins on BBC iPlayer on Sunday 4 October, when the first of this year’s celebrity couples will be eliminated from the competition.
