United Kingdom in the Eurovision Dance Contest

Infobox Eurovision country
Name = United Kingdom

---

Member station = BBC
National selection event = N/A
ESC apps = 2
ESC first = 2007
ESC best = 9th, 2008
ESC worst = 15th, 2007
Website =
EBU page = http://www.eurovisiondance.tv/uk.php

The United Kingdom was the host country for the inaugral Eurovision Dance Contest in 2007 and also hosted the 2008 competition.

2007

The 2007 contest was broadcast live from London, hosted by the BBC. Commentators for the UK audience were Len Goodman and Bruno Tonioli.

The participants chosen to represent the country for the first contest were Brendan Cole and Camilla Dallerup. They were chosen internally by the BBC. The dances they performed at the contest were Rumba and Freestyle. United Kingdom earned 18 points in 2007 and finished last but one to Switzerland, who ended up with no points.

The Last Waltz

The UK's Dallerup and Cole's performance would be their last. After nine years as partners on and off the dance floor, they had split up amid tensions during 2004's first series of "Strictly Come Dancing". They were reforming their dancing partnership for one last turn round the floor at the contest, the BBC's press office said on 4 July. [http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressreleases/stories/2007/07_july/04/dance.shtml] 'Invited to represent the nation in the new Eurovision Dance Contest, Brendan and Camilla will have to sweep aside their angst and hot-step around a ballroom for their last dance,' the corporation's press office added. It expected 'a sensational performance with passion, zeal and real life tension as the couple let the sequins fly'. In the Contest itself, they only managed to pick up 18 points for the United Kingdom; four countries voted for them, Denmark, Greece, Ireland and Lithuania. Denmark gave 3 points, Greece 3, Ireland 7 and Lithuania 5.

2008

After successful participation in the fourth series of the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing" and The Live Tour! 2008, couple Louisa Lytton and Vincent Simone competed for the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Dance Contest 2008 [cite web |url=http://www.esckaz.com/edc/2008/|title=Eurovision Dance Contest info page] which took place on 6 September 2008 in Glasgow. Louisa and Vincent placed ninth, receiving 47 points.

References