Where Are The Strictly Winners & Professional Partners Now?
For four months of the year we’re all invested in who will be the Strictly winners, and then forget it happened! What are the dancing couples doing now?
Image Source/ Internewscast
Series One – Natasha Kaplinsky and Brendan Cole
The pair beat off seven other couples to lift the glitterball trophy.
Video Source/ YouTube
The pair started rumours of the ‘Strictly curse’ after they both split from their partners.
After 14 years on the show, Brendan was axed.
Series Two – Jill Halfpenny and Darren Bennett
After the success of the first series, the BBC commissioned another show that same year!
Actress Jill Halfpenny and her dance partner Darren Bennett are the first ever couple to get a perfect 40.
Video Source/ YouTube
Lately, Jill has returned to the small screen after a stint in the theatre. Darren is currently starring in a West End show, Latin Fever, alongside his wife and fellow Strictly professional, Lilia Kopylova.
Series Three – Darren Gough and Lilia Kopylova
Darren is the first male celebrity to be crowned one of the Strictly winners.
They are the only couple to have won three glitterball trophies – after winning the 2005 and 2007 Christmas specials.
Although it wasn’t always easy for them, especially when Lilia nearly flashed on live TV…
Video Source/ YouTube
Nowadays, Darren is a presenter on Drivetime.
Like her husband, Lilia is performing in Latin Fever.
Series Four – Mark Ramprakash and Karen Hardy
Mark, a cricketer like Darren, went on to win the fourth series.
Video Source/ YouTube
Last year, Mark was assigned the role of head coach of the Edinburgh Rocks ahead of the Euro T20 Slam.
Karen has kept within the Strictly family as a guest judge on the Live Tour as well as the sister show, ‘It Takes Two’. She also runs her own dance school.
Series Five – Alesha Dixon and Matthew Cutler
Originally, Alesha was sceptical about taking part in the show, stating:
‘there’s always this preconceived idea that people do reality TV shows because they want to kick-start their careers whereas I was actually worried that it would affect it’.
Her most memorable performance is her Cha Cha Cha to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy In Love’.
Video Source/ YouTube
Alesha’s comments can now be seen as slightly hypocritical, as not only did she replace Arlene Phillips as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, but she is now a judge for rival network ITV, on Britain’s Got Talent.
Matthew has divorced his wife and fellow Strictly professional alumni, Nicole, although this hasn’t stopped them from dancing together professionally. They even have a dance school together!
Series Six – Tom Chambers and Camilla Dallerup
Tom and Camilla managed to claim the glitterball trophy despite close competition from Rachel Stevens and Lisa Snowdon, who were partnered with professional dancers Vincent Simone and Brendan Cole, respectively.
You might recall that Tom actually had to move the date of his wedding, as it clashed with the final!
Video Source/ YouTube
Tom has continued starring on the small screen, most notably in Midsomer Murders, Emmerdale and Father Brown.
This was Camilla’s last series of Strictly. After this, she moved to LA with her husband, Hollyoaks actor, Kevin Sacre. She is now an author and life coach.
Series Seven – Chris Hollins and Ola Jordan
Chris Hollins is the epitome of an underdog winner!
Everyone was shocked to see him pip Hollyoaks star Ricky Whittle to the glitterball. Perhaps it was his Charleston that achieved perfect scores:
Video Source/ YouTube
Chris left his BBC presenting job when it moved to Salford. He now presents Secret Britain.
Ola is married to fellow Strictly professional alumni, James Jordan. The pair recently welcomed a daughter after years of fertility struggles.
Series Eight – Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintse
Kara and Artem lifted the glitterball in 2010.
They finally answered the rumours by sealing their victory dance with a kiss! The pair were romantically together for four years before they decided to go their separate ways.
Video Source/ YouTube
In more recent years, Kara has taken a step back from TV and has turned to the stage.
From 2014-2018, Artem was a professional dancer on the American version of the show, Dancing with the Stars. He is now engaged and having a baby with Nikki Bella, his celebrity partner from series 25.
Series Nine – Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani
His Argentine Tango scored him full marks in the final!
Video Source/ YouTube
After a hiatus, Harry’s band, McFly, have released new music. He has also welcomed two children with his wife, Izzy.
Aliona has since moved to Florida with her husband, Vincent. in 2017, their daughter Bella was born.
Series Ten – Louis Smith and Flavia Cacace
Louis had a mixed series – not always being a firm favourite of the judges until later in the series.
Speaking about the show, he said:
‘It was brilliant. The training was harder than gymnastics as everything was a new challenge. I never expected to win – I just went out every week with the aim of doing my best’.
Video Source/ YouTube
Louis is now starring in Bring It On: The Musical! He retired from his sport in 2018.
Flavia is married to former Strictly contestant, Jimi Mistry. She still dances with her professional partner and former Strictly professional, Vincent Simone.
Series Eleven – Abbey Clancey and Aljaž Skorjanec
The former Britain’s Next Top Model runner-up managed to win this competition!
Her most memorable dance comes all the way from Week One.
Video Source/ YouTube
Since the show, Abbey has gone back to her roots as she is now the presenter of BNTM.
Aljaž and fellow Strictly professional, Janette Manrara got married!
Series Twelve – Caroline Flack and Pasha Kovalev
Caroline was no stranger to TV competitions – The X Factor, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and Love Island, come to mind.
She managed to lift the glitterball trophy with Pasha in 2013.
Video Source/ YouTube
Unfortunately Caroline has since died; she was found in her flat in February 2020.
Pasha is married to former Strictly contestant, Rachel Riley. The pair welcomed a daughter, Maven, in December 2019.
Series Thirteen – Jay McGuiness and Aliona Vilani
Jay may come across as shy and quiet, but his dancing is far from it.
Video Source/ YouTube
Since Strictly, Jay has been under the radar. He won Celebrity Hunted in 2017 with his former The Wanted band member, Siva Kaneswaran.
Series Fourteen – Ore Oduba and Joanne Clifton
Ore was not expected to win the fourteenth season of Strictly – he was up against Danny Mac and Louise Redknapp.
Video Source/ YouTube
His Strictly win cast Ore into the public eye and he has since presented many shows for the BBC and ITV.
Joanne has since departed from the show and is now known for starring in West End shows such as, Thoroughly Modern Millie and The Rocky Horror Show.
Series Fifteen – Joe McFadden and Katya Jones
This was arguably one of the tightest finals Strictly has ever seen!
Joe was the last man standing as he was up against Debbie McGee, Gemma Atkinson and Alexandra Burke.
Video Source/ YouTube
It appears that Joe’s decided to blend his love for dancing and acting by starring in theatre productions, most lately, he’s been cast in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.
Things haven’t been quite as simple for Katya… she was caught kissing her 2017 celebrity, Seann Walsh, subsequently, she and her husband, Neil Jones, another Strictly professional, announced that they were getting divorced.
Series Sixteen – Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton
The pair beat Faye Tozer, Ashley Roberts and Joe Sugg to be crowned Strictly winners.
Their ‘Paso Dooley’ is iconic:
Video Source/ YouTube
Stacey and Kevin are now in a romantic couple. Recently, Kevin announced his resignation from Strictly Come Dancing, with Stacey assuring fans she didn’t make him come to this decision.
Series Seventeen – Kelvin Fletcher and Oti Mabuse
Emmerdale’s Kelvin was a last minute stand-in after Jamie Laing was injured.
However, after THAT first week routine, we all knew he was going to be a finalist!
Video Source/ YouTube
It’s been rumoured that Oti and Kelvin are in a relationship, even though both of them being married!
