Come Dancing is a British ballroom dancing competition show made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), which aired on BBC One at various intervals from 1950 to 1998.
The show was created by Eric Morley, the founder of Miss World, and began by broadcasting from regional ballroom studios owned by Mecca, with professional dancers Syd Perkin and Edna Duffield on hand to offer teaching. At its peak, in the late 1960s and 1970s, it attracted audiences of ten million.
In 2023, BBC Four began repeating editions of the show from the 1970s. The entire 1979 run was repeated by BBC Four in January and February alongside an episode from 1977 and the Grand Final from 1974. On 12 October 2024, the channel repeated the 1990 Grand Final, as part of an 80th birthday celebration night for former Come Dancing presenter Angela Rippon, which also features future Strictly head judge Len Goodman as part of the judging panel. On 1 February 2026, BBC4 aired the 1978 Grand Final as part of an evening remembering its presenter, Terry Wogan, around the tenth anniversary of his death.
Presenters
The first presenter in 1950 was Peter Dimmock, McDonald Hobley, Terry Wogan, Frank Bough, David Jacobs, and Rosemarie Ford. Bruce Hammal, and Charles Nove.