The secret to winning Strictly - and why the professional dancers matter

While viewers of Strictly Come Dancing often focus on the celebrities, new analysis shows that the dancing professional they are partnered with can have a big impact on their prospects on the show.

While the first episode of this year's Strictly Come Dancing ended up with two couples tied at the top, it may be Faye Tozer who claims the Glitterball trophy alongside Giovanni Pernice.

Giovanni has one of the best records for performing well in Strictly Come Dancing, coming second twice in his three years of performing on the show.

So while Faye and Giovanni tied on points this week alongside Ashley Roberts and Pasha Kovalev, the dancers' records indicate that Faye may indeed have the best chance of winning series 16.

Search for your favourite professional dancers in the chart below to see how their record compares.

Other dancers who may be helped by strong dancing partners are journalist Stacey Dooley, newsreader Kate Silverton and comedian Seann Walsh.

That is because their partners - Kevin Clifton, Aljaž Skorjanec and Katya Jones respectively - have the best records for professional dancers in the competition.

Giovanni Pernice, however, has only been in the competition for three series - which isn't a huge amount of time compared to other dancers.

If we compare the records of the professionals who have been in over three series, Kevin Clifton has the best record.

He has come second in four of the five series he has participated in. After he took seventh place in last year's series with comedian Susan Calman, his average position is third.

Artem Chigvintsev, Camilla Dallerup and Aljaž Skorjanec have similarly good records - all having an average finishing position of either fourth of fifth - although only Aljaž is still in the competition, dancing with Kate Silverton in this series.

Erin Boag has the best record among the long-standing dancing professionals in Strictly. Her average finishing position across the 10 series in which she participated is 7th place (7.1).

This compares to the veteran Anton du Beke, who has averaged at 8th place (8.3) across his 15 series. The professional dancing partner of Erin Boag has not had the same success as her, having failed to become runner-up in the competition despite being the only dancer still standing from the show’s original 2004 line-up.

He has been famous for his heroic failures in the series, such as dragging Ann Widdecombe by her legs around the dance floor "like a hoover", according to judge Alesha Dixon.

Brendan Cole is the only other dancing professional to compare to Anton in terms of series participated in, taking part in every one apart from the 2018 edition.

He also has an average position of eighth, although slightly better than Anton (7.6). More importantly, however, he claimed the trophy in the first series of the show with Natasha Kaplinsky.

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