Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 1 hr ago
Strictly Come Dancing falls behind Bake Off in ratings
Strictly Come Dancing lost ground in the ratings during the first week of October, falling behind three other programmes.
The BBC dance show was outranked twice by The Celebrity Traitors, as well as by The Great British Bake Off and ITV drama The Blame.
The ratings drop follows a revamp after former hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman left, with Josh Widdicombe and Johannes Radebe taking over as presenters.
The show also dropped several professional dancers, including Karen Hauer and Gorka Márquez.
Public relations adviser Mark Borkowski said controversies had damaged the show's reputation, while changing audience tastes have made its familiar format less compelling.
The commentary also argues that a less familiar celebrity line-up may no longer be enough to draw viewers.
The figures raise questions about whether Strictly can remain a ratings leader, but no specific next steps for the show are stated.
Strictly Come Dancing was beaten by The Great British Bake Off in ratings during the first week of October, according to Digital Spy.
The BBC dance show was also beaten by The Celebrity Traitors and ITV drama The Blame.
The article says Strictly was only just making the top five and had lost its place as the most-watched show of the autumn.
PR guru Mark Borkowski said the show had lost some of its appeal amid changing audience tastes and controversies.
The article criticises the show’s new hosts, celebrity line-up and changes to its professional dancers.
- Who
- Strictly Come Dancing and the programmes that outranked it.
- What
- Strictly was beaten in ratings by The Celebrity Traitors, The Great British Bake Off and ITV drama The Blame.
- When
- Ratings figures cited are for the first week of October. The article was published on October 31, 2026.
- Where
- The UK television ratings.
- Why
- The article attributes the ratings decline to production decisions, changing audience tastes and reputational damage from controversies.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Ratings figures cited in the article show Strictly was beaten by three other formats.
Digital Spy published its article about Strictly’s ratings decline.
- Ratings
- Strictly was beaten by three other formats in the first week of October
- Rivals
- The Celebrity Traitors, The Great British Bake Off and ITV drama The Blame
- Presenters
- Josh Widdecombe and Johannes Radebe
- Former hosts
- Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman
- Professional dancers dropped
- Karen Hauer, Gorka Márquez, Nadiya Bychkova, Luba Mushtuk and Michelle Tsiakkas
1 source
What people are saying
Strictly hasn’t suddenly become a bad television programme. Its problem is rather more fundamental.
It’s become a bit of a cliche eroded by to many bad headlines
Strictly has become a beautifully polished machine, but it’s lost its allure and the reboots have not cut it.