It’s Strictly season at long last, with a new batch of 15 famous faces set to shimmy their way onto our screens every week. For nearly 20 years, Strictly Come Dancing has enthralled viewers and has had many linked to Leicestershire in its time.
Whether Leicester-born-and-bred or those who have called this county home through sports or other parts of their life, Strictly has seen its fair share of Leicestershire-linked dancers. Some did very well, others less so and one even injured themselves live on air.
But who are these county stars who’ve strutted their stuff? With the new series about to kick off, let's step back in time and waltz our way through Leicestershire’s Strictly past.
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Willie Thorne
The much-missed and late, great Willie Thorne was Leicestershire’s first Strictly contestant. The snooker legend was born in Anstey and began his passion for snooker in his teens before turning pro. During his career, he reached the final of 1985 UK Championship, but lost out to Steve Davis.
Willie was a snooker pundit by the time Strictly came calling in 2007 and he was paired with New Zealander pro dancer Erin Boag, one of the show’s mainstay professionals. However, their stay was relatively short-lived as they were the third couple to be eliminated.
During his time on the dancefloor, Willie scored the third highest mark in week one, achieving a score of 24 out of 40 for his waltz to Whitney Houston’s ‘Run to You’. He only scored one less point in the third week when all the couples danced, but his score of 23 for a tango to ‘Obertura’ by Lisandro Adrover left him in the bottom two. Willie faced off against former footballer John Barnes in the dance-off, but Willie was sent home after all the judges voted in favour of saving John who had earlier scored 27 for his jive to ‘Reet Petite’ by Jackie Wilson.
Away from Strictly, Willie lived in Broughton Astley with his wife Jill and was very open about his gambling addiction. He took part in a number of other reality TV series, including ITV’s The Real Full Monty. He died in 2020 at the age of 66 after going into septic shock while receiving treatment for leukaemia.
Ore Oduba
Sports presenter Ore Oduba ensured it was a great night for Loughborough University when he took home the Strictly crown in 2016. The former graduate’s winning run even included him gaining high praise from the widow of Gene Kelly, so that’s quite something.
Ore studied Sports Science and Social Science at Loughborough University, graduating from there in 2008. When he hit the Strictly dancefloor with partner Joanne Clifton, Ore started strong, with him and Joanne topping the leaderboard in week one.
This was followed by a memorable American Smooth to ‘Singin’ in the Rain’ where Ore and Joanne captured the magic of the legendary Gene Kelly routine. The dance earned him a score of 35 and even led to a message of praise from Gene’s widow who would come to see him perform the routine again in the final.
If that wasn’t enough, Ore then blew everyone away the following week when he scored 39 out of 40 for jive to Bruno Mars’ ‘Runaway Baby’. The routine left him visibly exhausted before he was overcome with emotion at the high scores, with only Craig Revel Horwood denying him a perfect 40 points. His journey to the final was far from straightforward though, with Ore in the dance-off twice, but he soldiered on and survived.
In the final against singer Louise Redknapp and actor Danny Mac, Ore amassed two perfect 40s for his jive and showdance. His second go at the American Smooth saw him score 39, seeing him finish the final on top of the leaderboard with 119 out of 120 points.
It was the public vote that decided the winner though and Ore was shocked at his win. A year later, he returned to Loughborough University where he was handed an honorary degree. University bosses said the presenter was a “shining example” of what Loughborough graduates achieve after leaving.
Austin Healey
Austin Healey was not born in Leicestershire but became a Leicester Tigers legend during his 10 years with the team in which he made more than 200 appearances for the side. It was two years after retiring that the former Tiger took on the Strictly challenge, partnered alongside Erin.
From the off, Austin and Erin looked like the ones to beat, achieving a score of 32 out of 40 for their week one waltz, while this was followed up by a 34 out of 40 for his jive. Both scores put the couple top of the leaderboard.
Austin continued to score well throughout the series and even bagged the first 10 of the series, getting his ‘10 from Len’ for his week seven quickstep. However, this was followed a week later by his lowest score of just 29 for the eternally difficult rumba.
Despite that setback, Austin reached the quarter-final and was eliminated after a tight dance-off against model and TV presenter Lisa Snowdon. Across two dances, he was narrowly out-scored by Lisa, with the judges agreeing to save her, leaving Austin to finish in fourth place.
Peter Shilton
Erin Boag clearly had a fondness for being paired with Leicestershire’s finest as series eight saw her paired with legendary Leicester goalkeeper Peter Shilton. However, the shot-stopper’s Strictly stay was just as short as Willie Thorne’s.
Peter’s first dance saw him tasked with a waltz to The Eagles’ ‘Take Me to the Limit’, but he only just outscored Ann Widdecome to finish second bottom on the leaderboard with 21 out of 40. His salsa the following week earned just 17 points, but again he was saved by the public vote.
The finest moment for the former Foxes goalie came in week three when he and Erin danced a quickstep to ‘Lullaby of Broadway’ by Tony Bennett - a routine that earned him 26 points, his highest mark. That ensured his safe passage to the next week, but he came unstuck with a Charleston routine that saw him finish bottom of the leaderboard with just 17 points.
That left Peter in the bottom two against Destiny’s Child singer Michelle Williams. The judges sided with Michelle who had earlier scored 27 points for her tango, sending Peter for an early and somewhat glittery bath.
Robbie Savage
Robbie Savage was a tough man on the pitch and made hundreds of appearances for Leicester City in his career. In 2011, the newly-retired midfielder hit the dancefloor and quite literally TV cameras very early in his Strictly journey.
Partnered alongside Ola Jordan, Robbie’s dancing left a lot to be desired at first as he found himself second bottom in the first week, amassing just 19 points for his cha cha cha. However, Robbie buckled down and improved massively, scoring 29 points for his Foxtrot the next week. He even went a mark better in Strictly’s Broadway themed night, scoring 30 out of 40 for his tango to ABBA’s ‘Gimme Gimme Gimme’ from the Mamma Mia! musical.
Robbie’s best known Strictly moment came at the conclusion of his jive. Originally, he was meant to slide on his knees towards the camera and kiss it, but Robbie misjudged his speed and clattered into it. The impact broke his nose, but he saw the funny side of it on Twitter.
Alongside a picture of his injury, he said: “Lol, smashed my huge nose on the camera. 20 years as a footballer - 1 broken leg, 1 broken neck, 7 knee ops, 3 hernias. As a dancer - 5 weeks, a broken nose.”
Despite the fracture, Robbie and Old carried on for several more weeks, reaching the week 10 quarter-finals when his luck finally ran out. Robbie was the lowest scorer on the night and faced off against actor and singer Jason Donovan in the bottom two, but the judges sides with Jason and gave Robbie the red card from Strictly.
Adam Peaty
Olympic swimmer extraordinaire Adam Peaty is our most recent Leicestershire-linked star, with the sportsman regularly seen training at Loughborough University. His Strictly stint even included some primetime exposure for one of the county’s most unique watery attractions.
Partnered alongside Katya Jones, Adam came out of the blocks with a score of 30 for his opening jive to Eurovision winners Maneskin’s version of ‘Beggin’. However, that was immediately followed by a score of 19 for his quickstep that left him in serious danger.
Ever the competitor, Adam did not let the low score get in the way and after a few tricky routines, he found himself tasked with a tricky Argentine Tango. This routine would see him come to Ashby where he and Katya used the town’s empty outdoor lido to help with training.
The iconic Ashby landmark is the only pool of its kind in the region, with staff delighted at welcoming the pair for training. Adam Knight, Everyone Active general manager, said: “The BBC contacted us as they wanted to film Adam and Katya practising their Argentine Tango in an empty swimming pool. By chance, we had just emptied our outdoor pool and were delighted to accommodate them. They came down for a few hours [...] and it was a pleasure and an honour to have them here. It was brilliant to see it featured on one of the biggest shows on television.”
Ashby played its part in helping Adam secure his biggest score on Strictly as he wowed the judges and bagged himself 32 points out of 40. However, his luck would run out three weeks later when he was eliminated in the dance-off against kids TV chef and presenter, Tilly Ramsay.
