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If you’re a fan of Dancing With the Stars, you may have wondered how to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US to see the original show DWTS is based on.
Strictly Come Dancing—also known as Strictly—is a reality TV dance competition, which partners celebrities with professional dancers and sees the pairs perform predetermined ballroom and Latin dances each week and compete against each other for judges’ points and audience votes. The couple with the lowest combined total of judges’ points and audience votes is eliminated each week until only one pair remains. That pair is declared the winner. The name Strictly Come Dancing is a combination of the BBC dance competition show Come Dancing, which ran from 1949 to 1998, and the 1992 movie, Strictly Ballroom.
Since its premiere in May 2004, Strictly Come Dancing has run for more than 19 seasons and holds a Guinness World Record. The show has also been spun off in more than 60 countries, including the United States, under the title, Dancing With the Stars. At a press conference in 2021, Strictly Come Dancing‘s executive producer Sarah James explained the show’s decision to expand to same-sex pairs. “It’s definitely something that we’ve always wanted to do and I’m really excited about John [Whaite] doing it. I think he’s already proven that he’s an amazing spokesperson for it and obviously, he’s a household name and he is just a brilliant guy so I’m really looking forward to it being John,” she said at the time.
She continued, “I think Nicola [Adams] and Katya [Jones] were amazing last year and I think everybody really, really enjoyed that partnership. It was obviously a shame that it was cut short because of what happened but they’ve 100 per cent paved the way. The research that we’ve done since has prove that everybody really, really appreciated that partnership so I’m looking forward to John doing that.”
So where can Americans stream Strictly Come Dancing? Read on for how to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US to see which British star wins this season.
Image: Courtesy of BBC.
When does Strictly Come Dancing air?
Strictly Come Dancing season 20 airs on Saturdays at 6:30 p.m. GMT (1:30 p.m. ET / 10:30 a.m. PT) on BBC One.
How to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US
How can one watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US? Strictly Come Dancing is available to stream for free on BBC One’s website, which has new episodes from the current season—season 20—as well as past seasons. However, to watch the show in the US, Americans will need a VPN, a service that allows users to set their computer’s location to another country and access websites that would otherwise be restricted by location. The most popular VPNs out there are ExpressVPN, NordVPN and PureVPN—all of which offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Read on for how to sign up for them to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US.
ExpressVPN is one of the most popular VPN services, and the one we recommend above all others for a simple reason. The service—which allows users to set their location to more than 160 locations in 90 countries with unlimited bandwidth—offers a 30-day free trial and a money-back guarantee. After the free trial ends, Express VPN costs $8.32 per month for a 12-month plan ($99.95 in total), $9.99 per month for a six-month plan ($59.95 in total) or $12.95 per month for a monthly plan. Along with access to more than 160 locations, Express VPN—which takes about five minutes to set up—also promises lightning-quick connectivity, 24-hour live-chat support and allows users to connect to any device, from computers to phones to tablets. Of course, users can do more than watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US with a VPN. Along with Strictly Come Dancing, VPNs also allow users to access international versions of Netflix, Disney Plus and HBO Max (which have different content than in the US) as well as stream international services like Hayu, which has access to programs like the Real Housewives, Below Deck, The Bachelor and hundreds of other reality TV shows.
Read on for step-by-step instructions on how to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US with ExpressVPN’s free trial.
- Sign up for ExpressVPN and create an account
- Log into your ExpressVPN account and click “Download” on the “Dashboard” or in “Set Up Your Devices”
- Once you’ve installed Express VPN, enter the “Activation Code” from the “Dashboard” or in “Set Up Your Devices”
- Once ExpressVPN is set up, change your location to “UK” by clicking the connect icon to read “Connected” and selecting the country in the “Smart Location” menu
- Visit the Strictly Come Dancing page on BBC One’s website
- Sign in or create an account
- Watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US!
Nord VPN is another popular VPN service recommended by YouTubers like PewDiePie, Casey Neistat and Philip DeFranco. The service—which offers a 30-day free trial and a money-back guarantee—costs $3.29 per month for two-year plan ($78.96 in total), $4.99 per month for a one-year plan ($59.88 in total) or $11.99 per month for a monthly plan. Along with access to more than 59 countries, NordVPN also allows users to connect to multiple devices (from computers to phones to tablets) and offers a 24-hour live-chat support. Read on for step-by-step instructions for how to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US with NordVPN’s free trial.
- Sign up for NordVPN and create an account
- Log into your NordVPN account and click “Downloads” on the left-side menu
- Once you’ve installed NordVPN, log into your account
- Once NordVPN is set up, change your location to the “UK” by clicking “Quick Connect” or searching the country in the menu
- Visit the Strictly Come Dancing page on BBC One’s website
- Sign in or create an account
- Watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US!
Another popular VPN service is Pure VPN, which offers a 31-day free trial and a money-back guarantee. After the free trial ends, users can sign up for Pure VPN for $1.99 per month for a two-year plan ($53.95 in total), $3.24 per month for a one-year plan or $10.95 per month for a monthly plan. Pure VPN offers more than 6,5000 servers in over 78 countries across the world, as well as 24-hour live-chat support. Read on for step-by-step instructions for how to watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US with PureVPN’s free trial.
- Sign up for PureVPN and create an account
- Once you’ve created your account, scroll to the bottom of PureVPN‘s homepage and select the VPN that fits your device: Windows, MAC, IOS, etc.
- Click “Download the app”
- Once you’ve installed PureVPN, log into your account
- Once PureVPN is set up, change your location to the “UK” by searching for the country in the right bar
- Visit the Strictly Come Dancing page on BBC One’s website
- Sign in or create an account
- Watch Strictly Come Dancing in the US!
Who’s in the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 cast?
The Strictly Come Dancing season 20 cast includes 15 celebrity contestants across sports, TV, movies and music. See the full Strictly Come Dancing 2020 cast below.
- Ellie Simmonds – Paralympic swimmer
- Ellie Taylor – comedian, actress & television presenter
- Fleur East – singer-songwriter & radio presenter
- Hamza Yassin – Wildlife presenter & cameraman
- Helen Skelton – Television presenter
- James Bye – EastEnders actor
- Jayde Adams – Comedian & actress
- Kaye Adams – Loose Women panelist & journalist
- Matt Goss – Singer-songwriter
- Molly Rainford – Nova Jones actress & singer
- Richie Anderson – Television & radio presenter
- Tony Adams – Former England footballer & manager
- Tyler West – Kiss FM presenter
- Will Mellor – Stage & screen actor
Who are the Strictly Come Dancing professional dancers?
There are 15 professional dancers for Strictly Come Dancing season 20. See the full list of the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 professional dancers and who they’re partnered with.
- Nikita Kuzmin
- Celebrity partner: Ellie Simmonds
- Johannes Rabede
- Celebrity partner: Ellie Taylor
- Vito Coppola
- Celebrity partner: Fleur East
- Jowita Przystal
- Celebrity partner: Hamza Yassin
- Gorka Marquez
- Celebrity partner: Helen Skelton
- Amy Dowden
- Celebrity partner: James Bye
- Karen Hauer
- Celebrity partner: Jayde Adams
- Kai Widdrington
- Celebrity partner: Kaye Adams
- Graziano Di Prima
- Celebrity partner: Kym Marsh
- Nadiya Bychkova
- Celebrity partner: Matt Goss
- Carlos Gu
- Celebrity partner: Molly Rainford
- Giovanni Pernice
- Celebrity partner: Richie anderson
- Katya Jones
- Celebrity partner: Tony Adams
- Dianne Buswell
- Celebrity partner: Tyler West
- Nancy Xu
- Celebrity partner: Will Mellor
Who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 hosts?
The Strictly Come Dancing season 20 hosts are Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. The Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two hosts are Rylan Clark and Janette Manrara.
Who are the Strictly Come Dancing 2022 judges?
The Strictly Come Dancing season 20 judges are Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Anton Du Beke. Former judge Bruno Tonioli, who missed season 18 and 19 due to travel restrictions from COVID-19, announced he would permanently be leaving the show.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to stream on BBC One with a VPN. Here’s how to watch it for free.
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