Strictly Come Dancing Icons Week: Madonna and Dolly Parton Tributes Announced

POLICY WIRE — London, United Kingdom — The upcoming results episode of Strictly Come Dancing is set to feature a special tribute to music icons Madonna and Dolly Parton. This themed installment, dubbed icons week, will air this Sunday.

The results show will highlight a choreographed routine by the professional dancers, drawing inspiration from various stages of Madonna’s storied career. Additionally, country artist Belles, who collaborated with Parton on a duet earlier this year, is scheduled to perform the classic track Jolene alongside dancers Amy Dowden and Kai Widdrington.

Dolly Parton, widely celebrated as one of the most successful figures in country music history, passed away in August at the age of 80 due to cancer.

Saturday’s main broadcast features a diverse lineup of performances. Bethany Antonia and Nancy Xu will dance the cha cha to Aretha Franklin’s Respect, while Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin perform a rumba to Mariah Carey’s Hero. Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu are set to dance the paso doble to David Bowie’s Let’s Dance.

Other pairings include Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola performing an American smooth to Adele’s Hometown Glory, and Dame Sarah Storey with Julian Caillon dancing the tango to Shania Twain’s That Don’t Impress Me Much. Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita will tackle the samba to Raye’s Where Is My Husband!, while Cach Mercer and Maddie Ingoldsby perform a foxtrot to Frank Sinatra’s Theme From New York, New York.

The competition continues with Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley dancing a salsa to an Abba medley, and John Nellis with Katya Jones performing the paso doble to Bon Jovi’s It’s My Life. Lawrence Robb and Jowita Przystal will salsa to Ricky Martin’s La Copa De La Vida, while Shaun Wright-Phillips and Alexis Warr perform a couple’s choice to a James Brown medley. Will Best and Dianne Buswell conclude the lineup with a jive to Elton John’s Crocodile Rock.

Regarding the competition status, Delta Goodrem has been granted a bye due to an injury, with hopes for her return alongside Kai Widdrington next week. Melanie Walters and Aljaz Skorjanec were the most recent couple to be eliminated from the series.

This weekend’s broadcast follows public scrutiny regarding the BBC’s decision to blur a slogan on a t-shirt worn by Bethany Antonia during rehearsals. The garment featured the phrase Protect The Dolls, a slogan associated with trans advocacy. A BBC spokesperson stated that the network takes standard steps to minimize overt branding or slogans in accordance with editorial guidelines, regardless of the specific message.

Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday at 6.15pm, with the results show following on Sunday at 7.20pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)