Strictly Come Dancing - Saison 8 (2010)

The eighth series of Strictly Come Dancing began with a red carpet launch show on 11 September 2010, and the competitive live shows began on 1 October. The series concluded on 18 December when Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev won the competition. According to BARB data, this series was the consistently highest rated of the show to date, peaking at 14.28 million viewers. There are 14 couples in this series and three new male professionals, Artem Chigvintsev, Robin Windsor and Jared Murillo. For series 8 the set has been totally revamped to try to attract more viewers to the programme, the backstage room where scores were given has been replaced by a tower above the dancefloor so the couples can watch as their team mates perform. In week 8 of the competition the live show was transmitted from the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. This series is presented by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly on Saturday. On Sunday, for the results show, Daly is joined by It Takes Two presenter Claudia Winkleman. The celebrities did not know their professional partners until they were introduced to each other at the launch show.