On a typical Strictly Come Dancing week, the result combines two equally weighted parts: the judges’ scores and the public vote. Each is converted into ranking points, the two sets of points are added together, and the combined result helps determine which couples face the dance-off.

The precise rules are season-specific and can be amended, so the BBC’s guidance for the relevant series takes priority.

1. The judges score each performance

The judges award marks for a couple’s dance. In the standard scoring format, each judge gives a mark out of 10, producing a total judges’ score out of 40.

That total is then used to rank the couples. The raw score is not simply added directly to the public vote. Instead, couples receive points according to their position on the judges’ leaderboard:

• the highest-ranked couple receives the most points;
• the next couple receives the next-highest number;
• the points continue downwards according to the number of couples competing that week.

This means the gap between a couple’s raw judges’ marks is not necessarily the same as the gap in the points used for the overall result.

2. The public vote is converted into ranking points

Viewers’ votes are also converted into points based on how the couples rank in the public vote. The couple that ranks highest with the public receives the most public-vote points, with the remaining couples receiving descending points.

The judges’ ranking points and public-vote ranking points are then combined. Because the two sides are treated as equal parts of the result, a couple that does well with the judges can still be vulnerable if it receives relatively few public votes—and a couple lower on the judges’ leaderboard can be helped by strong public support.

3. The combined result identifies the dance-off

After the two sets of ranking points are added, the combined standings are used to identify the couples at the bottom and determine the dance-off. The applicable rules also set out how ties are handled; those details should be checked against the guidance for the particular series rather than assumed to be identical every year.

The dance-off is therefore not determined by the judges’ marks alone. A couple’s position depends on both its performance score and its public support.

4. Week One can be treated differently

The opening week has a specific carry-over qualification in the BBC’s published guidance. Week One results are not necessarily treated in exactly the same way as an ordinary later week, because the rules can provide for scores or standings from that opening week to carry into the following stage.

That treatment is a rules detail rather than a general feature to apply to every week. The current series’ official instructions determine how the carry-over operates.

5. The Grand Final is an important exception

The Grand Final does not use the ordinary dance-off scoring arrangement in the same way. In the final, the judges’ scores are advisory, while the winner is decided by the public vote alone.

This is why a finalist’s position on the judges’ leaderboard does not by itself determine who wins the series. The final-week public vote has the decisive role.

A simple way to remember it

For a normal competitive week:

1. Judges mark each couple’s dance.
2. Couples are ranked by judges’ scores and receive descending ranking points.
3. Viewers vote, and couples are ranked by public support and receive another set of descending points.
4. The two sets of points are combined.
5. The combined result determines the relevant lower-ranked couples and the dance-off.

The main exceptions are the special treatment of the opening week, the rules for ties, and the Grand Final, where the public vote alone decides the winner. Since the BBC can amend the rules and announce changes on air, the official guidance for the current series is the final reference for any season-specific detail.

Sources and further reading

• BBC One – Strictly Come Dancing – About
• Strictly Come Dancing 2025 final: how does the scoring …