Darren Bennett

Darren Lee Bennett (born 14 February 1977) is an English professional dancer. With his wife Lilia Kopylova he has a successful career in professional Latin dancing, competing nationally and internationally. Darren's favourite dances are the Samba and the Foxtrot.

Read more on Wikipedia Read more on BBC View dances on StrictlyDB


6

Series

44

Total scored dances

1,327

Total points

7.54

Av. judge score (10)

27th / 63

Pros rank for av. score (10)

30.16*

Av. total score (40)

27th / 63*

Pros rank for av. score (40)

8

Total 10s awarded

1*

Perfect scores (40/40)

1

Series wins


Darren's dance statistics

Swipe left and right on the table below to view all information:

# Dance Dances % of total Total points Av. judge score (10) Av. dance score (40) Perfect scores (40s) 10s Bottom 2 Eliminated
1American Smooth24.5%658.1332.500000
2Argentine Tango12.3%369.0036.000001
3Cha Cha Cha49.1%1157.1928.750020
4Foxtrot511.4%1567.8031.200011
5Jive511.4%1577.8531.401421
6Paso Doble49.1%1308.1332.500220
7Quickstep49.1%1147.1328.500021
8Rumba49.1%1066.6326.500030
9Salsa36.8%786.5026.000001
10Samba24.5%718.8835.500000
11Tango49.1%1127.0028.000010
12Viennese Waltz24.5%668.2533.000000
13Waltz49.1%1217.5630.250221

Darren's series outcomes

Swipe left and right on the table below to view all information:

#SeriesCelebrityShow typeWeekPositionOutcome
12004 - S2Jill HalfpennyFinal81stWinners
22005 - S3Gloria HunnifordNormal show310thEliminated
32006 - S4Emma BuntonSemi-Final113rdEliminated
42007 - S5Letitia DeanQuarter-Final104thEliminated
52008 - S6Jessie WallaceFemale celebrities413thEliminated
62009 - S7Lynda BellinghamNormal show413thEliminated


Darren Bennett
Born
Darren Lee Bennett

(1977-02-14) 14 February 1977 (age 48)
Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England
OccupationDancer
SpouseLilia Kopylova (1999–present)

Darren's facts and stats

  • The first ever Strictly 40 was awarded to Jill Halfpenny & Darren for their Jive to “I’m Still Standing” by Elton John in the S2 Final (2004)
  • Darren is one of 5 pros who won Strictly on their first ever Series; other pros achieving this are Brendan, Jowita, Artem and Aljaž
  • Darren is one of 7 male pros who has Rumba as his lowest scoring dance (along with Andrew Cuerden, John Byrnes, Paul Killick, James Jordan, Ian Waite & Pasha Kovalev)
  • Jill & Darren danced in two Christmas specials (2004, 2008), winning both, and are one of only two couples to have won 3 Strictly titles (the other hat-trick was achieved by Darren Gough & Lilia, who won Series 3 and Christmas specials in 2005 and 2007
Last updated on July 12 2025