There are just four more weeks of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing 2025 left to enjoy. The beloved competition series has been thrilling us all throughout autumn as it returned to screens for its 23rd series in September. It's certainly been a series to remember, with some memorable routines that have already gone down in Strictly history.
The competition's tenth week is here and, as previous years have showcased, that means that there will be a unique challenge for the couples to take part in. This year, however, the show is trying something that multiple of its Dancing With The Stars counterparts have done in other countries by including the Instant Dance challenge. And yes, that means the show will be slightly extended this week.
Who will rise to the occasion? What will happen with an Instant Dance challenge on live television? In order to find all of that out, you also need to know when to tune in this Saturday. Here's when you can do that.
Strictly Week 10 start time (and how long the episode is)
Strictly Come Dancing Week 10 will air on BBC One on Saturday, November 29, at 6:35 pm GMT. That's 10 minutes earlier than last week's episode, but it's for a good reason considering that there will technically be 12 dances this week instead of the typical six. With the Instant Dance challenge undoubtedly taking up a relatively large portion of the show, it's a necessity. By contrast, next week's Quarter Final will be the shortest live show of the whole series.
Tonight's episode will also have a longer runtime than last week's Blackpool Special, wrapping up at 8:20 pm GMT. That means that the program will be 1 hour and 45 minutes long, and that is once again likely down to the Instant Dance. With each couple having to change into new outfits and prepare for new routines - and then dancing a 40-second routine - the show will be a lot longer than the typical Week 10 installment.
Strictly Week 10's songs and dances feature Tina Turner, Lady Gaga, and more
Week 10 of Strictly is known for being one of the shortest episodes of the whole series. However, the addition of the Instant Dance challenge ensures that it won't be that short this time around. It also ensures that each of the couples will dance twice (although the second ones will be much shorter than the first ones).
Speaking of dances, the first round will be full of absolute bangers as we have a mixture of classic tracks and modern hits, ranging from the legendary Tina Turner to the thrilling Harry Styles. We also have two Jives, a Quickstep, a Rumba, a Cha Cha, and a Couples Choice. That's a lot of Latin dances and not enough Ballroom, which leads up to believe that we might see more traditional Ballroom routines for the Instance Dances. We'll have to see.
In the meantime, here are all of the Week 10 dances and the songs that they will be performed to:
- Alex and Johannes – Cha Cha to "Ring My Bell" by Anita Ward
- Amber and Nikita – Jive to "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner
- Balvinder and Julian – Jive to "Right Back Where We Started" From by Maxine Nightingale
- George and Alexis – Quickstep to "I Get A Kick Out Of You" by Frank Sinatra
- Karen and Carlos – Couples Choice to "Born This Way" by Lady Gaga
- Lewis and Katya – Rumba to "Falling" by Harry Styles
It's also worth bearing in mind that, as nobody was eliminated at Blackpool last weekend, the scores and votes from last week's show will be carried over to this week's installment. And with that, you can bet that the couples will be hoping to deliver on their performances to either hold onto or improve their Leaderboard positions.
It's going to be a history-making week for Strictly this weekend and we can't wait to see how all of the couples thrive - both in their original routines and in the Instant Dance challenge. If the new addition to the show goes down well, it might just become a permanent addition in the years ahead. After all, Dancing With The Stars in the US has begun using it regularly. Could this be what ultimately replaces Strictly's a-thons? It's certainly possible!
One way or another, we're excited to see it in action!