Let's_Dance_for_Comic_Relief

<i>Let's Sing and Dance</i>

Let's Sing and Dance

British television programme


Let's Sing and Dance, formerly known as Let's Dance, is a British television programme shown on BBC One, featuring celebrities performing famous dance routines to raise money for the charities Comic Relief and Sport Relief.[2] The programme was presented by Steve Jones and Alex Jones, who replaced previous host Claudia Winkleman in 2011. In the first series, Anton du Beke was a regular judge, appearing alongside two guest panellists, but in the second series onwards, three guest judges were on the panel each week.

Quick Facts Let's Sing and Dance, Also known as ...

The first series aired between 21 February and 14 March 2009 and was won by Robert Webb. It raised over £300,000 for Comic Relief. The second series, in aid of Sport Relief, aired from 20 February 2010 until 14 March and was won by Rufus Hound. The third series aired between 19 February 2011 and 12 March in aid of Comic Relief, and was won by James Thornton and Charlie Baker. A fourth series aired from 18 February until 17 March 2012 in aid of Sport Relief, and was won by Rowland Rivron.[3] The fifth ran from 16 February 2013 until 9 March 2013, and was won by Antony Cotton.[4] The series' finale was the last Saturday night show to be broadcast live from BBC Television Centre.

On 6 October 2016, the BBC announced that the show would return for Red Nose Day 2017 as Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief.[5] On 28 October 2016, it was announced that Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins would host the show.[6] In 2018, it was reported that the Let's Sing and Dance was cancelled after six series.

Format

The four-part series was announced by the BBC in January 2009 as part of the corporation's events surrounding Red Nose Day 2009, hosted by Steve Jones and Claudia Winkleman. For the first three programmes, six celebrity acts each recreated a famous dance routine. Viewers then voted for their favourite performer, with the proceeds from their calls going to Comic Relief/Sport Relief. The act with the most viewer votes went through to the final, and the three panellists chose a second act from the top three to go through. The top six acts then returned for the final.

In 2011, Winkleman was replaced by The One Show host Alex Jones.

Episode guide

Series 1 (2009)

Heat 1 (21 February)

The guest panellists the first week were Emma Bunton and Michael McIntyre. The programme also premièred the video for the charity single "Islands in the Stream" released by Gavin & Stacey actors Ruth Jones and Rob Brydon and featuring Tom Jones. The acts were, in order of performance:

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Heat 2 (28 February)

The guest panellists for the second week were Jamelia and Paul O'Grady. The acts were, in order of performance:

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Heat 3 (7 March)

The guest panellists for the third week were Lisa Snowdon and Dara Ó Briain. The acts were, in order of performance:

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Final (14 March)

The guest panellists for the final week were Denise van Outen and Michael McIntyre. Ruth Jones, Rob Brydon and Tom Jones performed their charity single "Islands in the Stream", Alesha Dixon performed "Let's Get Excited" and the cast of Hairspray performed "You Can't Stop the Beat". Two acts from each heat returned for the final, and they were, in order of performance:

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Series 2 (2010)

In November 2009 it was confirmed on that the show would return but this time in aid of Sport Relief. Winkleman and Jones returned to host the show which kicked off on Saturday 20 February 2010. The contestants were to be judged by an all-new panel that saw the judging line-up change for all four shows (a format that would remain for the next two series).

Heat 1 (20 February)

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Heat 2 (27 February)

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Heat 3 (6 March)

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Final (13 March)

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  • Cheryl Fergison injured her leg in rehearsals and was unable to perform. However, she remained in the competition, having her previous performance shown instead.

Series 3 (2011)

On 26 January 2011 it was confirmed the show was returning for another series. Steve Jones hosted the show along with The One Show's Alex Jones. It ran from 19 February until the final on 12 March, when Charlie Baker and James Thornton were crowned champions with their rendition of "Puttin' On The Ritz".

Heat 1 (19 February)

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Heat 2 (26 February)

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Heat 3 (5 March)

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Final (12 March)

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Series 4 (2012)

On 10 December 2011 it was confirmed the show was returning for another series. Steve Jones and Alex Jones continued to host the show which ran for 5 episodes from 18 February until 17 March 2012.

Heat 1 (18 February)

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Heat 2 (25 February)

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Heat 3 (3 March)

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Heat 4 (10 March)

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Final (17 March)

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Series 5 (2013)

In 2013, the series reverted to three heats with six acts in the final. It ran from 16 February to 9 March.

Heat 1 (16 February)

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Heat 2 (23 February)

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Heat 3 (2 March)

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  • Boyzone's singer Keith Duffy was meant to participate in this episode but was unable to compete due to private matters. Jodie Prenger then took his place on the show.
  • Twist and Pulse featured in Lee Nelson's routine.

Final (9 March)

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Series 6 (2017)

The sixth series, renamed Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief, was hosted by former The Great British Bake Off presenting duo Mel Giedroyc and Sue Perkins.[15]

The full episode line-ups were revealed on 28 February.[16]

Heat 1 (4 March)

Paul O'Grady was due to appear as a judge, but was forced to withdraw due to "personal reasons" and was replaced by Katherine Ryan[18]

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Heat 2 (11 March)

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Heat 3 (18 March)

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Final (25 March)

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Ratings

Series 1

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Series 2

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Series 3

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Series 4

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Series 5

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Series 6

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^1 Overnight figure.

References

  1. "Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief". BBC Studioworks. Retrieved 19 December 2021.
  2. "New dance show for Comic Relief". BBC News. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  3. 17 Mar 2012, 21:00 UTC (17 March 2012). "Rowland Rivron wins 'Let's Dance for Sport Relief' – TV News". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 February 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. "Antony Cotton wins 'Let's Dance for Comic Relief' – TV News". Digital Spy. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 10 March 2013.
  5. "BBC One announces Let's Sing and Dance for Comic Relief". BBC Media Centre. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  6. "No Comic Relief for aching Burton Race". Herald Express. Herald Express News & Media Ltd. 23 February 2009. Archived from the original on 23 February 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2009.
  7. "Hollyoaks stars revealed for Let's Dance". What's on TV. 19 February 2009. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  8. Fletcher, Alex (4 February 2009). "'Let's Dance' Comic Relief celebs unveiled". Digital Spy. Retrieved 23 February 2009.
  9. "Let's Dance for Comic Relief". 5 March 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2019 via telegraph.co.uk.
  10. "Nicole Scherzinger, Justin Bieber to perform on BBC's 'Let's Dance' – TV News". Digital Spy. 20 February 2013. Retrieved 23 February 2013.
  11. Davies, Megan (3 March 2017). "Paul O'Grady WON'T be on Let's Sing & Dance tonight". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  12. Wilkes, Neil (22 February 2009). "Celeb dance show defeats Ant & Dec". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  13. Wilkes, Neil (1 March 2009). "Ant & Dec's 'Takeaway' drops to 5.8m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  14. Wilkes, Neil (8 March 2009). "Celebrity 'Dance' show grows to 8.1m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  15. Wilkes, Neil (15 March 2009). "'Let's Dance For Comic Relief' ends on 7.9m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  16. French, Dan (23 February 2010). "'Let's Dance' opens to 6.3 million". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  17. "Ant & Dec's 'Push The Button' debuts high". Digital Spy. 1 March 2010. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  18. French, Dan (8 March 2010). "Simon Cowell gives Piers Morgan new high". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  19. French, Dan (15 March 2010). "Marsh's Morgan appearance draws 4m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  20. Millar, Paul (20 February 2011). "'Let's Dance' returns with 7.6m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  21. Millar, Paul (28 February 2011). "Hill's 'TV Burp' sinks to three-year low". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  22. Millar, Paul (7 March 2011). "'Let's Dance' beats 'Burp', 'Button'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  23. Millar, Paul (13 March 2011). "'Let's Dance' finale draws 7.1m viewers". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  24. Millar, Paul (19 February 2012). "'Let's Dance' hurts 'TV Burp' in ratings". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  25. Millar, Paul (26 February 2012). "Good Saturday start for 'Pointless'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  26. Millar, Paul (4 March 2012). "'Let's Dance' slays ITV opposition". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  27. Millar, Paul (11 March 2012). "BBC One in Saturday sweep over ITV". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  28. Millar, Paul (18 March 2012). "'Let's Dance' 2012 final peaks at 6m". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  29. "The Ratings Thread (Part 45) - Page 133". Digital Spy. 17 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  30. "The Ratings Thread (Part 46) - Page 27". Digital Spy. 24 February 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  31. "The Ratings Thread (Part 46) - Page 52". Digital Spy. 3 March 2013. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  32. Millar, Paul (10 March 2013). "'Takeaway' beats 'Let's Dance' finale". Digital Spy. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  33. "The Ratings Thread (Part 69) - Page 259". Digital Spy. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  34. "The Ratings Thread (Part 69) - Page 292". Digital Spy. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  35. "The Ratings Thread (Part 69) - Page 320". Digital Spy. 19 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  36. "The Ratings Thread (Part 69) - Page 347". Digital Spy. 27 March 2017. Retrieved 3 March 2019.

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