Strictly Come Dancing has been a favourite show for Emmerdale stars since the early days of the glittering show! And Emmerdale dancers are among the fans’ top competitors of all time.
Here’s the lowdown of all the Emmerdale stars who have taken part in Strictly Come Dancing, who they danced with, and how far they got in the show.
Emmerdale stars on Strictly Come Dancing
Claire King
Claire, who plays iconic Emmerdale villain Kim Tate, took part in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2006. She was paired with the show’s ‘bad boy’, Brendan Cole, who’d won the very first series with newsreader Natasha Kaplinski. The pressure was on!
Claire was competing against fellow soap star Louisa Lytton (aka Ruby Allen in EastEnders) and one-time Corrie mechanic Ray Fearon, as well as Spice Girl Emma Bunton, and rugby player Matt Dawson.
She was eliminated eight in the competition – making it through to the end of November – when her samba scored just 25 out of 40.
In the end, cricketer Mark Ramprakash won the series with his partner Karen Hardy.
Claire has made no secret of the fact she and Brendan didn’t get on. Her crippling arthritis also made competing on the show a challenge, but she was determined never to give up.
Responding to reports she and Brendan were romantically involved, Claire told The People at the time: “Our routines, may be hot but that’s as far as it goes. Brendan grinds down my confidence and I don’t feel like he’s given me a lot of support.”
She continued: “Brendan’s been defeatist from the word go about his chances of winning when he found out I was his partner. I’ve had no moral support or team spirit from him.
“I’m not a dancer and I needed someone to help me through it.
“It takes me longer than the younger contestants to pick things up and Brendan is very intolerant and impatient with me. He’s got a very short temper – both of us have.”
Lisa Riley
Mandy Dingle‘s alter ego Lisa Riley took part in the 10th series of Strictly in 2012, taking on Olympians Louis Smith (who won the series) and Victoria Pendleton (who also once appeared on Emmerdale!), as well as current EastEnders star Colin Salmon (who plays George Knight), and Girls Aloud’s Kimberley Walsh.
Lisa was partnered with Robin Windsor and the pair were certainly a big hit with viewers, making it all the way through to December before being eliminated in the semi-final!
Lisa and Robin became firm friends and she was devastated when Robin died in February 2024, aged just 44. She paid tribute to her friend, calling him her angel.
Gemma Atkinson
Former Hollyoaks and Emmerdale star Gemma Atkinson, AKA Carly Hope, took to the dancefloor in 2017. It was series 15 of the show and Gemma was paired with Aljaž Škorjanec.
Gemma took to dancing immediately and was therefore a big hit with Strictly fans. She and Aljaž were runners up in the series, which was eventually won by Holby City star Joe McFadden and his partner Katya Jones.
But though Gemma didn’t win the series, she did win a different prize! She hit it off with professional dancer Gorka Marquez and the pair started a relationship.
They’re now engaged and are also proud parents to daughter Mia and son Tio.
Emmerdale stars on Strictly Come Dancing: Kelvin Fletcher
Kelvin wasn’t even supposed to be in Strictly in 2019. He was a last-minute replacement for Jamie Laing following his injury. Kelvin only started training two weeks before the first live show.
He was partnered with Oti Mabuse, who was in her fifth year as a Strictly professional.
Kelvin started with a bang, achieving the highest score of week one with his salsa. And he didn’t stop there! The farmer and racing car fan went on to smash the competition. He then won the whole series!
Adam Thomas
One-time Emmerdale star Adam, who now stars in Waterloo Road, took part in Strictly in 2023 partnered with Luba Mushtuk.
Adam loved every minute of his appearance on Strictly, spreading joy with his infectious enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, he didn’t go the distance and he and Luba were voted off the show in the seventh week, after being in the dance-off two weeks in a row. They were eliminated when the judges chose to save newsreader Angela Rippon and her partner Kai Widdrington.
Emmerdale usually airs weeknights on ITV at 7.30pm.
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