Tony and Katya have been praised for their Quickstep performance this week which saw them move up from 12th to 9th place and improve on their Week 5 score by 12 points with Anton commenting that Tony was “unrecognisable…a proper dancer”.

Everyone loves to see a Strictly partnership who improve on their score from the previous week, but which dances have seen the largest weekly improvements in the history of the show?

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

Joint 6th: John & Kristina

• Series 6 (2008) Week 9
• American Smooth
• True Love Ways by Buddy Holly
• 15 Nov 2008
• Score 25 (5,6,7,7)
• Improvement: 13 points

John & Kristina were fairly consistent over the first seven weeks of the Series, scoring between 16 and 22 for each routine. Their dance low point came not with the infamous “sack of potatoes” Paso, but in Week 8, when their Cha Cha scored just 12. To their credit the following week they recovered with a score of 25 for their American Smooth.
That week saw two couples who had consistently scored in the 30s (Lisa & Brendan and Cherie & James) fall into the bottom two, and with media scrutiny increasing, John made the controversial decision to withdraw from the competition.

Joint 6th: Katie & Anton

• Series 13 (2015) Week 4
• Viennese Waltz
• If I Can Dream by Elvis Presley
• 17 Oct 2015
• Score 33 (8,9,8,8)
• Improvement: 13 points

After scoring 26 and 28 for their first two routines, fans wondered if Katie could achieve the seemingly implausible and take Anton to his first Strictly Final. Expectations took a sharp tumble in Week 3, when a ‘Pretty Woman’ themed Cha Cha was panned by the judges, scoring a lowly 20 points. However, the ‘King of Ballroom’ recovered the following week with a delightful Viennese Waltz routine, which ended up topping the Week 4 leaderboard, and helped propel the duo into the Final.

Joint 6th: Chris & Karen

• Series 17 (2019) Week 2
• Charleston
• Out of Our Heads by Take That
• 28 Sep 2019
• Score 26 (5,7,7,7)
• Improvement: 13 points

After scoring a paltry 13 points for their Week 1 Cha Cha, Chris & Karen were strong contenders for the first elimination. As has been the case for a number of partnerships over the years, help came along in the form of the Charleston. A fun, energetic routine was enjoyed by all, and saw a doubling of their Week 1 score. This momentum continued and took Chris & Karen all the way to the Semi-Final.

Joint 6th: Catherine & Johannes

• Series 17 (2019) Week 3
• Rumba
• Shallow by Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper
• 5 Oct 2019
• Score 32 (8,8,8,8)
• Improvement: 13 points

It was a slow start to the Series for Catherine & Johannes scoring 20 and 19 for their first two routines. This meant hopes were not particularly high for a Week 3 Rumba, however against all odds, their routine turned out to be one of the highlights of the evening, with even Craig awarding it a score of 8! This turned out to be their highest score of the Series, and they were eventually eliminated in Week 6.

Joint 6th: Tilly & Nikita

• Series 19 (2021) Week 2
• Charleston
• Yes Sir, That’s My Baby by Firehouse Five Plus Two
• 2 Oct 2021
• Score 34 (8,9,9,8)
• Improvement: 13 points

A pedestrian Week 1 Waltz from Tilly & Nikita left them at the wrong end of the leaderboard, and with plenty to prove. Yet again a Charleston gave the chance for redemption, and hopes for something special grew as the routine was chosen to close the Week 2 show. Tilly looked altogether more comfortable with this style of dance and earned a score which was only matched by one other partnership on the night (who appear later in this countdown).

Joint 4th: Mike & Katya

• Series 17 (2019) Week 4
• Quickstep
• Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners
• 12 Oct 2019
• Score 32 (7,9,8,8)
• Improvement: 14 points

Series 17 was certainly a great series for ‘comebacks’ with Mike’s performance following directly on from Chris & Catherine in the previous two weeks.

A ‘Magic Mike’ themed Cha Cha in Movie Week had only scored 18 points, leading to expectations that the Week 4 dance-off would be a ‘battle of the Quicksteps’, between Mike & David James. Both men, however, overcame the odds with Mike’s improvement almost matched by David (who achieved a weekly increase of 12 points). These performances helped lead to the shock elimination of Dev & Dianne. Mike & Katya would go on to appear in the dance-off in each of the next four weeks before being eliminated in Week 8.

Joint 4th: Hamza & Jowita

• Series 20 (2022) Week 4
• Salsa
• Ecuador by Sash! featuring Rodriguez
• 15 Oct 2022
• Score 39 (9,10,10,10)
• Improvement: 14 points

Hamza & Jowita were undoubtedly one of the big surprises from Week 1, finishing joint top of the leaderboard. They followed this up with two moderate scores of 24 and 25, before reclaiming top spot with a spectacular 39 for their Salsa. This is the only dance on the improvement list to receive a 10.

3rd: Seann & Katya

• Series 16 (2018) Week 3
• Paso Doble
• Clubbed to Death: Theme from ‘The Matrix’
• 6 Oct 2018
• Score 30 (7,7,8,8)
• Improvement: 15 points

Seann & Katya’s first two routines were entertaining but contained numerous mistakes leading to scores of just 18 and 15. Expectations for their Matrix-inspired Movie Week Paso Doble were not high, but a brilliantly choreographed routine achieved a score of 30, and 5th place on the leaderboard. Controversy soon followed for this partnership, and they were eventually eliminated in Week 6.

2nd: Graeme & Oti

• Series 16 (2018) Week 3
• Charleston
• Spider-Man Theme from ‘Spider-Man’
• 6 Oct 2018
• Score 31 (7,8,8,8)
• Improvement: 16 points

Incredibly, Week 3 of Series 16 saw both the second and third highest ever weekly improvement performances appear in the same show! Graeme & Oti’s campaign started off with a respectable score of 22, but was then followed by a score of only 15 for their American Smooth. Movie Week saw Graeme in a Spider-man costume, and his Charleston saw him ‘flying’ up to 4th place on the leaderboard. Eventually they departed in Week 10, after four dance-off appearances.

1st: Sara & Aljaz

• Series 19 (2021) Week 2
• Foxtrot
• Dream a Little Dream of Me by Cass Elliot
• 2 Oct 2021
• Score 34 (8,8,9,9)
• Improvement: 17 points

In a unique (and likely, never to be repeated) fashion, Sara & Aljaz went from ‘worst to first’ in the first two weeks of Series 19. A Week 1 Cha Cha was seen by the judges as a ‘dance disaster’, scoring only 17 points. This meant that Sara was the favourite for elimination in Week 2, but stunned everyone by performing a beautiful Foxtrot, and was awarded a score that was twice what she achieved in her debut.

Sara definitely proved herself to be proficient with the ballroom dances (also scoring 36 for the Tango, and 33 for the Quickstep), which helped her progress all the way to Week 8.