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Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series)

From Alfawiki
Dancing with the Stars (Australia)
Company typeTelevision series
IndustryReality television
PredecessorStrictly Come Dancing (British format)
Founded2004; 22 years ago (2004)
FounderBBC Studios (licensed format)
FateOngoing
Headquarters
Melbourne, Sydney
,
Australia
Area served
Australia
Key people
Daryl Somers, Sonia Kruger, Daniel MacPherson, Melanie Brown, Edwina Bartholomew, Shane Bourne, Grant Denyer, Amanda Keller, Chris Brown (hosts); Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Paul Mercurio, Mark Wilson (judges)
ProductsTelevision program
OwnerGranada Media Australia, Freehand Group, FremantleMedia Australia, Warner Bros. International Television Production
ParentSeven Network (original and current broadcaster), Network 10 (2019–2020)

Dancing with the Stars is an Australian reality competition television series that initially aired on the Seven Network from 2004 until 2015, transitioned to Network 10 for the 2019 and 2020 seasons, and then returned to Seven Network starting in 2021.

Licensed from BBC Studios, this program is adapted from the British format Strictly Come Dancing and is part of the international Dancing with the Stars franchise. It features celebrities paired with professional ballroom dancers, competing each week in dance contests evaluated by a judging panel alongside audience votes to determine who remains in the competition.

The show has been filmed at various locations including Global Television Studios in Melbourne during its Seven Network tenure, Fox Studios Australia while on Network 10, as well as Docklands Studios Melbourne and multiple venues in Sydney. Across its run, it has produced 18 seasons comprising 164 episodes, with production handled by Granada Media Australia, Freehand Group, FremantleMedia Australia, and Warner Bros. International Television Production.

2004–2015: Original run on Seven

Initially launched for a brief period between October and November 2004 before returning in February of the following year, the series quickly gained popularity, reaching an average weekly audience of approximately 2 million viewers at its height and securing top ratings for its broadcast day.

The first seven seasons featured a logo closely resembling that of Strictly Come Dancing, while from season eight forward, the branding shifted to mirror the American Dancing with the Stars logo.

After completing 15 seasons, the show ended when Seven Network announced in October 2016 that it would not continue the series, despite earlier expectations that a sixteenth season would air in 2017.

2019–2020: Revival on Network 10

Network 10 revived the series in September 2018 with hosts Grant Denyer and Amanda Keller, both well-known television personalities and former participants of the show. This reboot premiered on 18 February 2019. Following positive reception, a seventeenth season was commissioned in October 2019 and premiered on 9 February 2020.

Nonetheless, Network 10 declared in October 2020 that the series would not be returning for a further season in 2021.

2021–present: Return to Seven Network

In December 2020, Seven regained broadcasting rights and announced an All-Stars edition scheduled for 2021. Differing from past editions, these seasons were pre-recorded, with audience voting conducted live within the studio instead of through telephone voting.

The All-Stars season was filmed at Sydney's International Convention Centre (ICC) in March 2021 and premiered on 11 April that year. In March 2023, the program was renewed for its twentieth season featuring exclusively first-time contestants, which debuted on 18 June 2023. Subsequently, in October 2023, a twenty-first season renewal was confirmed alongside a change in hosting: Daryl Somers stepped down and was succeeded by Dr. Chris Brown, who will co-host alongside Sonia Kruger.

Hosts

Entertainment veteran Daryl Somers and presenter Sonia Kruger have served as primary hosts from seasons one through seven and resumed hosting duties from season eighteen onwards. For season eight, Somers was replaced by actor Daniel MacPherson after Somers returned to Nine Network. Kruger continued co-hosting until season twelve before departing for Nine Network; she was succeeded by former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, known from the American version of the show. In 2013, Edwina Bartholomew, a weather presenter from Sunrise, took over hosting responsibilities from Brown. Daniel MacPherson was replaced by Shane Bourne in 2015.

In September 2018, a revamped production team introduced new hosts Grant Denyer and Amanda Keller for the sixteenth season airing in 2019.

Host Season
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Sonia Kruger ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Daryl Somers ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Daniel Macpherson ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Mel B colspan=11 ●
Edwina Bartholomew bgcolor ="lightgrey"| ● ● ● bgcolor ="lightgrey"|
Shane Bourne bgcolor ="lightgrey"| ● bgcolor ="lightgrey"|
Grant Denyer bgcolor ="lightgrey"| ● ● bgcolor ="lightgrey"|
Amanda Keller bgcolor ="lightgrey"| ● ● bgcolor ="lightgrey"|
Chris Brown bgcolor ="lightgrey"| ● ●


Judges

Throughout the first seven seasons, the judging lineup consisted of four main judges: Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Paul Mercurio, and Mark Wilson. At the onset of season 8, Mercurio departed from the panel. Prior to season 11, Joshua Horner took over Wilson's position. From 2011 onwards, the panel was anchored by McKenney, Richey, and Horner. In 2013, additions included Kym Johnson—originally from the American edition—and Adam Garcia. The year 2015 saw Bruno Tonioli, recognized from both British and American versions, temporarily replace Garcia for the initial three weeks before exiting, leaving a trio of judges for the rest of that season.

Intermittently, guest judges such as Ian "Dicko" Dickson and Bruno Tonioli have contributed scores and critiques. Other guest judges including Pamela Anderson, Damian Whitewood, Olivia Newton-John, and Dame Edna Everage have appeared solely to provide commentary.

Season 16 featured a judging panel of three: Craig Revel Horwood, Sharna Burgess, and Tristan MacManus. Seasons 18 and 19 marked the return of the original quartet—McKenney, Richey, Mercurio, and Wilson. For season 20, McKenney and Mercurio exited once more while Burgess and Revel Horwood rejoined the panel.

Judge Season
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22
Todd McKenney ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Helen Richey ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Mark Wilson ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ● ●
Paul Mercurio ● ● ● ● ● ● ● " bgcolor = "lightgreen "|● ● "
Joshua Horner " "● "● "
Kym Johnson " "● "● "● "
Adam Garcia " "● "● "
Craig Revel Horwood " "● "● " "● "● "●
Sharna Burgess " "● "● " "● "● "●
Tristan MacManus " "● "● "

Professional partners

Color legend:

Champion
Second place
Third position
Fourth position
Fifth position
Celebrity partner withdrew from the contest
Celebrity partner actively competing


Series overview

Season Number of
celebrities 		Air dates Top three celebrity finishes Broadcast network
Premiere Finale Champion Runner-up Third place
1 8 5 October 2004 23 November 2004 Bec Hewitt & Michael Miziner Pauline Hanson & Salvatore Vecchio Justin Melvey & Kym Johnson Seven
2 10 8 February 2005 26 April 2005 Tom Williams & Kym Johnson Ian Roberts & Natalie Lowe Holly Brisley & Mark Hodge
3 6 September 2005 8 November 2005 Ada Nicodemou & Aric Yegudkin Chris Bath & Trenton Shipley Ian "Dicko" Dickson & Leanne Bampton
4 21 February 2006 9 May 2006 Grant Denyer & Amanda Garner Kostya Tszyu & Luda Kroitor Toby Allen & Leanne Bampton
5 3 October 2006 28 November 2006 Anthony Koutoufides & Natalie Lowe Arianne Caoili & Carmello Pizzino Tamsyn Lewis & Arsen Kishishian
6 20 February 2007 1 May 2007 Kate Ceberano & John-Paul Collins |Fifi Box & Paul Green |Tim Campbell & Natalie Lowe |-scope=row style=text-align:center !7 |25 September 2007 |27 November 2007 |Bridie Carter  & Craig Monley |Anh Do  & Luda Kroitor |David Hobson (tenor)  & Karina Schembri |-scope=row style=text-align:center !8 |31 August 2008 |9 November 2008 |Luke Jacobz  & Luda Kroitor |Danny Green (boxer)  & Natalie Lowe |Paul Licuria  & Eliza Campagna |-scope=row style=text-align:center !9 |rowspan=4 |11 |5 July 2009 |6 September 2009 |Adam Brand (musician)  & Jade Hatcher |Matthew White (journalist)  & Ash-Leigh Hunter |Kylie Gillies  & Carmello Pizzino |- scope=row style=text-align:center !10 |27 June 2010 |29 August 2010 |Rob Palmer (presenter)  & Alana Patience |Tamara Jaber  & Carmello Pizzino |Alex Fevola  & Arsen Kishishian |- scope=row style=text-align:center !11 |8 May 2011 |10 July 2011 |Manu Feildel  & Alana Patience |Haley Bracken & Aric Yegudkin |Damien Leith & Melanie Hooper |-scope=row style=text-align:center !12 |15 April 2012 |17 June 2012 |Johnny Ruffo & Luda Kroitor |Danielle Spencer (Australian actress) & Damian Whitewood |Zoe Cramond & Aric Yegudkin |-scope=row style=text-align:center !13 |12 |1 October 2013 |26 November 2013 |Cosentino (illusionist) & Jessica Raffa |Rhiannon Fish & Aric Yegudkin |Tina Arena & Damian Whitewood |-scope=row style=text-align:center !14 |rowspan=3 |11 |30 September 2014 |

25 November 2014 | David Rodan & Melanie Hooper | Lynne McGranger & Carmello Pizzino | Ricki-Lee Coulter & Jarryd Byrne |-scope=row style=text-align:center !15 19 July 2015 | 7 September 2015 | Emma Freedman & Aric Yegudkin | Matthew Mitcham & Masha Belash | Ash Pollard & Jarryd Byrne |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season16 18 February 2019 | 22 April 2019 | Samuel Johnson (actor) & Jorja Freeman | Courtney Act & Joshua Keefe | Constance Hall & Gustavo Viglio | rowspan=2 | Ten |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season17 10 | 9 February 2020 | 29 March 2020 | Celia Pacquola & Jarryd Byrne | Christian Wilkins (model) & Lily Cornish | Claudia Karvan & Aric Yegudkin |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season18 rowspan=3 | 14 | 11 April 2021 | 25 April 2021 | Luke Jacobz & Jorja Freeman | Bec Hewitt & Craig Monley | Multiple third places:
Ada Nicodemou & Aric Yegudkin
Kyly Clarke & Gustavo Viglio
Lincoln Lewis & Lily Cornish
Manu Feildel & Katrina Patchett | rowspan=5 | Seven |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season19 20 February 2022 | 3 April 2022 | Grant Denyer & Lily Cornish | Courtney Act & Joshua Keefe | Multiple third places:
David Rodan & Alexandra Vladimirov
Deni Hines & Lyu Masuda
Kris Smith & Siobhan Power
Ricki-Lee Coulter & Jarryd Byrne |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season20 18 June 2023 | 23 July 2023 | Phil Burton & Ash-Leigh Hunter | Emily Weir & Lyu Masuda | Multiple third places:
Christie Whelan Browne & Craig Monley
Mary Coustas & Aric Yegudkin
Paulini & Igor Ifliand
Virginia Gay & Ian Waite |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season21 rowspan=2 | 12 | 7 July 2024 | 12 August 2024 | Lisa McCune & Ian Waite | Samantha Jade & Gustavo Viglio | Ant Middleton & Alexandra Vladimirov |-scope=row style=text-align:center !Dancing with the Stars (Australian TV series) season22 15 June 2025 | 4 August 2025 | Kyle Shilling & Lily Cornish | Shaun Micallef & Ash-Leigh Hunter | Multiple third places:
Trent Cotchin & Jessica Raffa
Michael Usher & Natalie Lowe
Felicity Ward & Aric Yegudkin
Brittany Hockley & Craig Monley | }

Champion of Champions

At the end of 2005, the winners from series two, Tom Williams, and series three, Ada Nicodemou, faced off for the Champion of Champions title. Series one champion Bec Hewitt was absent due to her pregnancy. Ultimately, Ada Nicodemou and her partner Aric Yegudkin triumphed over Tom Williams and his partner Kym Johnson, as determined by the judges' scoring.

Scoring chart

Red figures signify the lowest scores each week.
Green figures denote the highest scores in a given week.
marks the couple who won.
marks the runners-up.
Couple Position 1 2 Total 1+2
Ada & Aric 1 31+31+31=93 29+33+38=100 193
Tom & Kym 2 25+33+33=91 26+31+40=97 188

Running Order

The judges' scores (presented in parentheses) are from left to right: Todd McKenney, Helen Richey, Paul Mercurio, Mark Wilson.

Week 1

Performance sequence
Couple Score Dance Style Music Selection
Ada & Aric 31 (7, 8, 8, 8) Cha-Cha-Cha "Get The Party Started" – Pink
31 (8, 8, 8, 7) Samba "Bamboléo"—Gipsy Kings
31 (9, 8, 8, 6) Period Jive "In the Mood"—Glenn Miller
Tom & Kym 25 (6, 7, 6, 6) Cha-Cha-Cha "Get The Party Started"—Pink
33 (9, 8, 8, 8) Quickstep "That's Dancing"—Henry Mancini
33 (7, 9, 8, 9) Period Jive "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy"—The Andrews Sisters

Week 2

Performance sequence
Couple Score Dance Style Music Selection
Ada & Aric 29 (7, 7, 8, 7) Foxtrot "On the Sunny Side of the Street" – Steve Tyrell
33 (9, 8, 8, 8) Ballroom Medley "Big Spender" – Shirley Bassey
"Money, Money, Money" – ABBA
"I Have Nothing"—Whitney Houston
38 (10, 9, 10, 9) Freestyle "Chopper Chase from The Italian Job"—John Powell
Tom & Kym 26 (6, 7, 7, 6) Foxtrot "On the Sunny Side of the Street" – Steve Tyrell
31 (7, 8, 8, 8) Latin Medley "España cañí"—Pascual Marquina Narro
"Harlem Nocturne"—Earle Hagen
"Proud Mary"—John Fogerty
40 (10, 10, 10, 10) Freestyle "History Repeating"—The Propellerheads feat. Shirley Bassey
"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction"—The Rolling Stones


Ratings

Season Market
Sydney Melbourne Brisbane Adelaide Perth 5-Cities
1 624,250 543,625 320,375 183,250 223,125 1,894,625
2 590,500 590,100 315,700 191,200 219,500 1,907,000
3 610,900 633,500 327,700 205,300 234,800 2,011,800
4 685,600 647,900 430,700 218,200 251,800 2,234,100
5 549,800 517,700 277,200 182,200 207,000 1,733,900
6 576,400 569,900 314,700 189,500 209,200 1,859,600
7 555,300 543,700 294,700 174,200 219,400 1,786,800
8 399,400 402,100 193,200 109,500 171,000 1,275,300
9 424,300 397,900 311,100 144,900 169,700 1,447,700

See also

External links
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