Strictly’s most astonishing show moments – from canons to silent dances
After 20 years of Strictly Come Dancing the popular reality dance competition has left viewers' jaws dropping with some big moments, let's look back.
Strictly: Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni dance in silence -
It’s two decades since Strictly Come Dancing waltzed onto our screens and signed up over 60 professionals to lead celebrities to try and take home the glitter ball. BBC viewers have been left hooked after watching countless stunning Strictly performances.
However, at times some routines have left fans shocked after bosses allowed the likes of Ed Balls to perform Gangnam and a Member of Parliament shoot out of a canon.
The Express.co.uk have taken a look over the past 21 seasons and picked out the best bits so far. Earlier this month 14 celebrities signed up and have been quickstepping their way through the live shows.
Chris McCausland made history as the show's first blind contestant and was seen listening to the crowd go wild when he landed a staggering score of 29. He glided across the dancefloor and performed bench work with his partner Diane Buswell.
Head judge Shirley Ballas was instantly impressed and gushed praising him as "an example to every celebrity upstairs when it comes to footwork". Meanwhile, Motsi Mabuse shared that his slow foxtrot is one of the most difficult dances but felt he made it look "so easy".
In 2021, former Eastenders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis got the nation talking when she performed a silent symphony with partner Giovanni Pernice.
For around 20 seconds, Rose, 29, and her partner, Giovanni, 34, danced in total silence and synchronicity. Their monumental moves sparked a heartfelt reaction after sending a huge nod to the community she takes such pride in representing, after being born deaf.
Following the reaction of the moving and heartfelt dance Rose chose it as their Couple’s Choice performance on the evening of the final. This saw them waltz into the final and be crowned the winners of the show.
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Former Labour politician Ed Balls was branded as a joke contestant, with nobody having high hopes for his ballroom skills. However, under the tutelage eye Katya Jones, he became a half-decent dancer.
To many viewers' delight, he did a salsa routine to Psy’s Gangnam Style, combing the iconic Korean craze’s moves. Bruno Tonioli said he “nearly passed out” watching it, adding: “That was the best worst dance I’ve seen.” Craig Revel Horwood simply said: “Three letters, darling. O, M, G.”
In 2011 Strictly went to Wembley for Children in Need and bosses wanted to wow the audience. In front of 6,000 bewildered punters, Russell Grant kicked off his jive donning a sparkly helmet and was shot into the arena from a giant glitter canon.
His human cannonball act wasn’t enough to propel him through to another week though. He scored 24 points and lost the dance-off to Holly Valance.
Age is just a number on Strictly as the likes of Pamela Stephenson, Annabel Croft and Debbie McGee have all impressed and inspired during their stints.
Last year high-kicking newsreader Angela Rippon stunned fans with her flexibility after Kai Widdrington lifted her pins sky-high. But she hit the headlines when she kept calm and carried on, after suffering a huge gash on her leg moments before her live performance.
Series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and Iplayer.
