To receive a score in the thirties for every Strictly Come Dancing routine requires a combination of skill, talent, consistency, and a little bit of good fortune!

This year, Molly & Carlos are on course to become just the twelfth partnership to achieve this outcome.  We reveal here the duos who managed this accolade in previous years, and invite you to rewatch the routines that saw them earn their lowest score of the series.

Big thank you to fellow “Strictly Statistician” James (Instagram: @drross365) for contributing this article to the StrictlyDB Blog.

Emma & Darren

• 13 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,7,7,9)
• Series 4, Week 7: 18th November 2006
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘All Right Now’ by Free

Emma & Darren started their campaign with a bang, scoring 33 points for a leaderboard-topping Quickstep. They remain one of twelve partnerships to receive a nine for their first dance.

Their lowest score of 30 occurred for both a Week 4 Foxtrot, and this Week 7 Cha Cha. There is much to appreciate in this Cha Cha, but it would be fair to say that Emma does not keep a straight leg at all times! Bruno’s generous nine allows Emma & Darren to make their way onto this list.

Alesha & Matthew

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 31 (8,7,8,8)
• Series 5, Week 2: 13th October 2007
• Rumba to ‘Hurt’ by Christina Aguilera

Series 5 Champions Alesha & Matthew are one of just two partnerships who never received a score lower than eight from Craig. The other will be revealed later on in this blog.

Given a tough assignment of the Rumba for their first routine, this turned out to be Alesha & Matthew’s only dance of the series that didn’t receive at least one nine from the judging panel.

Rachel & Vincent

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,7,8,8)
• Series 6, Week 5: 18th October 2008
• Samba to Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira

Rachel & Vincent excelled in two notoriously difficult dance styles; performing two of the three ‘perfect 40’ Foxtrot routines ever seen on Strictly, and also having the highest ever Rumba score of 39 (along with with six other partnerships).

Their lowest score of the series was for another difficult dance style; the Samba. The judges were lukewarm with their praise, but eights from Len & Bruno meant that a score of 30 was achieved.

Zoe & James

• 7 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,8,8,7)
• Series 7, Week 5: 17th October 2009
• Jive to ‘Tainted Love’ by Gloria Jones

Zoe & James are one of three partnerships on this list who failed to reach the Final, despite their consistency of scoring in the thirties.

Their lowest score came in both a Week 2 Waltz, and this Jive. The routine ends with an unusual ‘almost’ lift, which would not be permissible in this dance style. Despite finishing third on the leaderboard, it obviously didn’t impress the public, as it had to be repeated in that week’s dance-off.

Ricky & Natalie

• 19 routines performed
• Lowest score 31 (7,8,8,8)
• Series 7, Week 11: 28th November 2009
• Rock ‘n’ Roll to ‘Hound Dog’ by Elvis Presley

Ricky & Natalie had the toughest task out of all partnerships on this list, having to perform on 19 occasions!

Week 11 of Series 7 saw the introduction of two new dance styles to Strictly. Three partnerships got to perform the Charleston; whereas two others got to perform a Rock ‘n’ Roll routine. The judges and public were clear on which style they preferred, with both of the Rock ‘n’ Roll dances falling into the dance-off. If Ricky had performed the Charleston and Chris performed Rock ‘n’ Roll, would we have ended up with a different champion?

Craig’s seven for this dance was the only time this partnership scored below an eight from any judge, for any routine!

Kara & Artem

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,8,8,7)
• Series 8, Week 1: 2nd October 2010
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘I Like It’ by Enrique Iglesias featuring Pitbull

Series 8 Champions Kara & Artem received their lowest score of the competition in Week 1. Remarkably, they were able to achieve a total of 30, despite Kara falling mid-routine after a heel got caught in her outfit!

Despite strong performances throughout, it wasn’t until their final routine that they finally received a ten from Craig. Len however, only gave that American Smooth a seven, meaning that Kara is one of only three celebrity champions from the past 13 years not to achieve a perfect score (along with Jay & Stacey).

Natalie & Artem

• 15 routines performed
• Lowest score 31 (8,8,8,7)
• Series 11, Week 1: 27th September 2013
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘Rasputin’ by Boney M

Three years after scoring in the thirties for every routine with Kara, Artem repeated the feat with Natalie.

Following on from Alesha & Matthew, this duo became the second partnership never to receive a score lower than eight from Craig. Indeed the only seven awarded to Natalie in the entire series came, inexplicably, from Bruno, for this Cha Cha!

Frankie & Kevin

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,7,8,8)
• Series 12, Week 2: 4th October 2014
• Charleston to the Theme from ‘Happy Days’ by Pratt and McClain

Frankie & Kevin’s lowest score of the series occurred for both a Week 1 Waltz, and this Charleston, that closed the show in Week 2. It’s fun and energetic, with a slight timing issue near the end of the routine.

Frankie & Kevin are one of just six partnerships that have received a score that was higher than 40 (thanks to the five judge format), and are the only partnership ever to receive an exact score of 45.

Daisy & Aljaz

• 8 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,8,7,8)
• Series 14, Week 2: 1st October 2016
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘Forget You’ by CeeLo Green

Daisy & Aljaz are one of ten partnerships to have scored 32 points, or higher, with a dance performed in the first week of a series.

The word that best describes this duo is consistency, as all eight of their routines earned a total between 30 and 34 points. Indeed, Darcey awarded an eight to them for every single one of their dances! They were eliminated in a Week 8 dance-off against Greg & Natalie, settled by Len’s casting vote.

Louise & Kevin

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 31 (7,8,8,8)
• Series 14, Week 3: 8th October 2016
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘Flashdance… What A Feeling’ by Irene Cara

Kevin makes his second appearance on this list, thanks to his partnership with Louise. Their lowest score came in both a Week 1 Jive, and this Week 3 Cha Cha, that closed ‘Movie Week’.

This is the only dance on the list that went on to be reprised in the series Final; and on that occasion it earned an additional seven points.

Louise and Kevin received a score of nine from Craig in nine consecutive routines, before finally receiving a ten in their last dance of the series.

Danny & Oti

• 16 routines performed
• Lowest score 30 (7,8,7,8)
• Series 14, Week 6: 29th October 2016
• Foxtrot to ‘Take Me To Church’ by Hozier

Danny Mac is the only second male celebrity to make this list, performing a memorable set of routines with Oti.

Their lowest score came in that year’s Halloween episode with a ‘frightening’ Foxtrot. Oti had devised a challenging routine, which involved the two of them being tied together by a cord. There were a number of footwork mistakes from Danny, leading to sevens from Craig & Len, and an overall total of 30.

From Week 7 onwards, Danny & Oti never scored lower than 36 points for any of their last ten routines (receiving 26 tens during this run).

Honourable Mention: Maisie & Gorka

• 12 routines performed
• Lowest score 24 out of 30 (7,8,9)
• Series 18, Week 4: 14th November 2020
• Cha Cha Cha to ‘Girls Just Want To Have Fun’ by Cindi Lauper

It feels only fair to include Maisie & Gorka on this list, as I feel certain that each of their routines would have scored in the thirties had there had been a fourth judge in Series 18.

Their lowest score (as with five other partnerships on this list) came when dancing the Cha Cha Cha. This ‘Ken and Barbie’ themed dance was certainly unique, and divided opinion amongst the Strictly fandom. It was performed in Anton’s first week as a guest judge, and he was clearly impressed, awarding it with a nine.

There are seven other fantastic partnerships who just missed out from joining this exclusive group, with each receiving a single score of 29.

• Ali & Brian (15 routines; scored 29 in Series 7, Week 5)
• Ashley & Pasha (16 routines; scored 29 in Series 16, Week 1)
• Austin & Erin (12 routines; scored 29 in Series 6, Week 8)
• Faye & Giovanni (16 routines; scored 29 in Series 16, Week 1)
• John & Johannes (16 routines; scored 29 in Series 19, Week 4)
• Michelle & Giovanni (9 routines; scored 29 in Series 17, Week 5)
• Zoe & Ian (13 routines; scored 29 in Series 3, Week 3)