Halloween week on Strictly is known for it’s spooky Salsas, fiendish Foxtrots, terrifying Tangos and chilling Charlestons; however, for each of these nine partnerships Halloween week saw them achieve their highest score of the Series.

Look out for Part 2 of this post in which we look at the more tricksome Halloween dances that saw couples earning their lowest score.

Happy Halloween everyone!

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

Lulu & Brendan

• Series 9, Week 5 (2011)
• Paso Doble (29 points)
• Dancing to ‘Highway to Hell’ by AC/DC

Strictly has seen many celebrities lowered down from the top of the stairway onto the dance floor over the years, but perhaps none have looked quite as impressive as the one in this routine. Indeed, it could be argued that the start and the end of the dance (where Lulu flies back to where she started) were the best parts of this performance.

This was the undoubted high point of the competition for this duo as they were eliminated one week later.

Victoria Pendleton & Brendan

• Series 10, Week 4 (2012)
• Tango (31 points)
• Dancing to ‘White Wedding’ by Billy Idol

Two years later Brendan was paired up with Olympic gold medallist Victoria. In the afterglow of London 2012, many thought this could be a winning partnership, but a lowly score of 16 in Week 1 put those hopes into perspective. Three weeks later they delivered a far from ‘terrifying Tango’, and for me, it deserved the ‘eights’ it received. Brendan was obviously delighted, telling Victoria at the end of the routine “you nailed it!”

This partnership would stay in the competition for another four weeks, finishing the Series in eighth place.

Rachel Riley & Pasha

• Series 11, Week 6 (2013)
• American Smooth (30 points)
• Dancing to ‘I Put A Spell On You’ by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins

Having made the Final in each of his first two series (with Chelsee Healey and Kimberley Walsh), Pasha’s third series would not be the one to deliver him the Glitterball, but it did introduce him to his future wife! Rachel flattered to deceive on the dance floor, failing to score more than 27 points in any of her first five routines. Her best performance came with this American Smooth, which earned the first (and only) ‘eights’ she was to receive.

Despite achieving this personal best, Rachel & Pasha fell into the dance-off for the first time, and as they had the misfortune to have to compete against eventual champions Abbey Clancy & Aljaž, their competition came to an abrupt end here.

Scott Mills & Joanne

• Series 12, Week 6 (2014)
• Foxtrot (21 points)
• Dancing to ‘Theme from The Addams Family’ by Vic Mizzy

Technically, Scott & Joanne received their highest score of 25 on Movie week in Series 12; but as that performance included a baffling 7 points from guest judge Donny Osmond (and so was scored out of 50), I see this Halloween Foxtrot as their best performance.

It would be fair to say that Scott was not a naturally gifted dancer, however he did provide us with two memorable theme week performances; playing Sebastian Crab in Movie week, and then Uncle Fester three weeks later. This routine earned Scott his first ‘six’ from Darcey, but it wasn’t enough to survive elimination, as the duo would lose out to Alison Hammond & Aljaž in the dance-off.

Laura Whitmore & Giovanni

• Series 14, Week 6 (2016)
• Tango (36 points)
• Dancing to ‘Paint It Black’ by The Rolling Stones

A number of Strictly partnerships have been described as having had a ‘rollercoaster journey’ on the show, but perhaps none more so than Laura & Giovanni. They received the joint highest score in Week 2, before dropping into the dance-off the following week. Laura then received a bye in Week 5, after picking up an injury while rehearsing the Jive; before returning to the top of the leaderboard with this ‘terrific Tango’, which received four ‘nines’.

One week later, this partnership found themselves back in the dance-off, where they were defeated by eventual champions Ore Oduba & Joanne.

Aston Merrygold & Janette

• Series 15, Week 6 (2017)
• Paso Doble (38 points)
• Dancing to ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ by Nirvana

Aston & Janette had received a total of five ‘nines’ in their first five routines, but this ‘petrifying Paso Doble’ brought them their first (and only) ‘tens’ of the Series.

Having finished in the top three on the leaderboard in each of the first six weeks, Aston looked a near certain finalist; yet incredibly he found himself eliminated just one week later, losing in a dance-off to Mollie King & AJ.

Michelle Visage & Giovanni

• Series 17, Week 6 (2019)
• Foxtrot (39 points)
• Dancing to ‘Theme from The Addams Family’ by Vic Mizzy (its second appearance in this list!)

Partnering Michelle in 2019, this dance would not only mark Giovanni’s fifth consecutive appearance in Halloween week, but also the fifth time that he would top the Halloween leaderboard.

This ‘frightful Foxtrot’ would provide the duo with their first (and only) ‘tens’ of the Series, and they would end up leaving the competition in Week 9.

Ellie Taylor & Johannes

• Series 20, Week 6 (2022)
• Couple’s Choice (35 points)
• Dancing to ‘I Put A Spell On You’ by Bette Midler, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy from ‘Hocus Pocus’

I must admit to being shocked to discover that Ellie & Johannes topped the Halloween leaderboard a year ago (tied with Tyler West & Dianne) with this ‘Hocus Pocus’-inspired Couple’s Choice routine.

It delivered the partnership with their first (and only) ‘nines’ of the competition, and helped them to achieve a seventh-place finish.

Tony Adams & Katya

• Series 20, Week 6 (2022)
• Quickstep (31 points)
• Dancing to ‘The Devil Went Down to Georgia’ by The Charlie Daniels Band

My second shock when looking at last year’s Halloween leaderboard came when I saw that Tony earned a score of 31 for this ‘quivering Quickstep’, which was five points higher than for any of his other routines. Indeed, the 12 point ‘week on week’ improvement for Tony & Katya has only been matched by one other partnership at Halloween (Michael Vaughan & Natalie in Series Ten).

Tony’s run in the competition would come to an end two weeks later, when he withdrew due to injury, ahead of his Week 8 dance-off with Tyler.

Honourable mentions

The following partnerships all received their joint highest score of the series on Halloween week:

• Series 8: Scott Maslen & Natalie (Quickstep, 39 points)
• Series 11: Ben Cohen & Kristina (Paso Doble, 32 points)
• Series 17: Alex Scott & Kevin, deputising for Neil (Couple’s Choice, 34 points)
• Series 19: Rose Ayling-Ellis & Giovanni (Tango, 40 points)
• Series 19: Judi Love & Graziano (Cha Cha Cha, 25 points)