Strictly Come Dancing Halloween 2023 - looking back at most ‘memorable’ spooky dances

As Strictly Come Dancing Halloween 2023 week approaches, NationalWorld looks back at the best ‘spooky’ performances over the years
Marina Licht
By Marina Licht
23rd Oct 2023, 5:45pm
It will be interesting to see how this year's contestants find Stritcly Come Dancing Halloween 2023. Pictured: Angela Rippon, Layton Williams, Nigel Harman, Ellie Leach, Amanda Abbington, Les Dennis, Adam Thomas, Eddie Kadi, Angela Scanlon, Nikita Kanda, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Annabel Croft, Jody Cundy, Zara McDermott & Bobby Brazier. Picture: BBC Studios/Ray Burmiston.It will be interesting to see how this year's contestants find Stritcly Come Dancing Halloween 2023. Pictured: Angela Rippon, Layton Williams, Nigel Harman, Ellie Leach, Amanda Abbington, Les Dennis, Adam Thomas, Eddie Kadi, Angela Scanlon, Nikita Kanda, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Annabel Croft, Jody Cundy, Zara McDermott & Bobby Brazier. Picture: BBC Studios/Ray Burmiston.
It will be interesting to see how this year's contestants find Stritcly Come Dancing Halloween 2023. Pictured: Angela Rippon, Layton Williams, Nigel Harman, Ellie Leach, Amanda Abbington, Les Dennis, Adam Thomas, Eddie Kadi, Angela Scanlon, Nikita Kanda, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Annabel Croft, Jody Cundy, Zara McDermott & Bobby Brazier. Picture: BBC Studios/Ray Burmiston.

Strictly Come Dancing Halloween 2023 is nearly upon us and it won’t be long before the likes of Layton Williams, Bobby Brazier Ellie Leach and Angela Rippon show us their ‘spookiest’ dances’ yet. Over the years, there have been some stellar Halloween performances, one performance that stands out is when Harry Judd and Aliona Vilani performed ‘Psycho Killer’ in 2011. Not only did they use David and Victoria Beckham-like thrones in their performance, but they also scored their second 10 of the performance. Harry went on to win the Strictly Come Dancing crown that year too. 

Back in 2010, Kara Tointon and Artem Chigvintsev (eventual winners of the show), wowed the audience with an incredible paso to ‘Phantom of the Opera.’ After winning Strictly Come Dancing in 2010, Kara said that it was "the most special thing I've ever achieved.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I have always loved ‘Wuthering Heights’ by Kate Bush, so it is no surprise that Alison Hammond and Aljaž Škorjanec's performance to the song in 2014 has to be mentioned. Not only did Alison descend from the ceiling, but she accidentally blinded her partner for several moments during the performance thanks to her sleeves. Thankfully, she managed to make it look like it was part of the routine, and many were none the wiser!

In 2016, Louise Redknapp joined the ‘Harley Quinn’ craze as Suicide Squad had just been released. She danced a Charleston in blue and pink pigtails to Beyonce’s ‘Crazy in Love’ with partner Kevin Clifton. Judge Bruno Toniali said “it was a charleston as pop art"! Bruno went on to say: “It was like Toni Basil stepping out of a Roy Lichtenstein painting. All those different ideas in one dance. Wonderful! 

In 2022, Tyler West and Dianne Buswell, along with Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe impressed in the Halloween Special, with both couples scoring 35 points. Kiss FM DJ Tyler West performed a Cha Cha to Day-O (The Banana Boat Song) by Tanz Orchester Klaus Hallen and was told by Anton Du Beke that “I thought that was brilliant, it’s one of the best Cha Cha’s I have seen on this show”.

Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe closed Halloween Week 2022 to the song ‘I Put A Spell On You’ by Bette Middler. The routine received a standing ovation and Ellie described it as ‘one of the best moments of my life’. After her performance, Ellie said: “No annoying heels, didn’t have to worry about bent knees, could just be us and be silly. I have loved this week so much.”

When is Strictly Come Dancing Halloween 2023?

Strictly Come Dancing Halloween 2023 is on BBC One on Saturday 28 October 2023 at 6.40pm. Week 6 results are on Sunday 29 October 2023 at 7.20pm.

Related topics:Strictly Come DancingHalloweenAlison HammondCharlestonLayton Williams

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.