Kai Widdrington | |
---|---|
Born | Southampton, England | 23 August 1995
Occupation(s) | Dancer Choreographer |
Known for | Dancing with the Stars (Irish series) Britain's Got Talent Strictly Come Dancing |
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) |
Parent | Tommy Widdrington |
Relatives | Theo Widdrington (brother) |
Kai Widdrington (born 23 August 1995) is an English dancer and choreographer. In 2010, he was the Junior World Latin American champion. In 2012, he reached the final of the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent . Between 2017 and 2020, he was a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars, and in 2021, he became a professional dancer on the BBC show Strictly Come Dancing .
Widdrington was born in Southampton, England [1] [2] His father is former Premier League footballer Tommy Widdrington, and his younger brother, Theo, currently plays for Aldershot Town F.C. Widdrington was also set to follow in his father's footsteps by becoming a professional footballer, but aged 12 chose a dancing career instead of a Premier League contract. By the time he was 14, he was the World Junior Latin American champion. [3]
Widdrington is of part Chinese descent. His maternal grandfather is half Chinese, he’s said to have been in the same class as Bruce Lee. [4]
In 2012, Widdrington formed a dance partnership with Natalia Jeved, both of whom auditioned for the sixth series of Britain's Got Talent . The pair managed to reach the live final. [5] Two years later, in 2014, Widdrington made a second appearance on the programme during its eighth series, as part of the ballroom dance group Kings & Queens, working alongside future Strictly Come Dancing professionals Katya Jones and Neil Jones, and future Dancing with the Stars professionals Ksenia Zsikhotska and Ryan McShane. [6] The group managed to reach the semi-finals of the series, but were ultimately eliminated from the competition by that stage. [7]
In 2017, Widdrington was announced as one of the professional dancers for the first series of Dancing with the Stars in Ireland. [8] He was partnered with comedian and actress Katherine Lynch. They were eliminated in week nine of the competition, finishing in sixth place. [9]
In 2018, Widdrington was partnered with camogie player Anna Geary. They reached the final of the show, finishing as joint-runners up alongside Deirdre O'Kane and John Nolan. [10]
In 2019, Widdrington was partnered with teenage actress Demi Isaac Oviawe. [11] They were eliminated in week seven of the competition, finishing in eighth place. [12]
In 2020, Widdrington was paired with Miss Universe Ireland 2018, Gráinne Gallanagh. [13] On 15 March 2020, it was announced that the scheduled semi-final had become the final due to precautions around the COVID-19 pandemic halting production early. Gallanagh and Widdrington were one of the four couples in the final, and they finished as runners-up to winners Lottie Ryan and Pasquale La Rocca. [14]
Series | Partner | Place |
---|---|---|
1 | Katherine Lynch | 6th |
2 | Anna Geary | 2nd |
3 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 8th |
4 | Gráinne Gallanagh | 2nd |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Smooth | Anna Geary | 22 | ||
Cha-cha-cha | Katherine Lynch | 18 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 10 |
Charleston | Anna Geary Gráinne Gallanagh | 30 | Katherine Lynch | 23 |
Contemporary Ballroom | Anna Geary Gráinne Gallanagh | 27 | ||
Foxtrot | Aoibhín Garrihy 1 | 28 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 14 |
Jive | Anna Geary | 29 | Katherine Lynch | 19 |
Paso Doble | Gráinne Gallanagh | 25 | Anna Geary | 22 |
Quickstep | Gráinne Gallanagh | 25 | Katherine Lynch | 21 |
Rumba | Anna Geary | 24 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 16 |
Salsa | Anna Geary | 30 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 20 |
Samba | Gráinne Gallanagh | 22 | Katherine Lynch | 16 |
Showdance | Anna Geary | 30 | ||
Tango | Anna Geary | 28 | Gráinne Gallanagh | 18 |
Viennese Waltz | Gráinne Gallanagh | 30 | Demi Isaac Oviawe | 21 |
Waltz | Katherine Lynch | 18 |
1 This score was awarded during Switch-Up Week.
Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
1 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | No elimination |
2 | Waltz / "If You Go Away" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
3 | Cha-cha-cha / "Express Yourself" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
4 | Samba / "Voulez-Vous" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | Safe |
5 | Foxtrot / "Summertime" | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 | Safe |
6 | Quickstep / "You're the One That I Want" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
7 | Foxtrot / "Big Bad Handsome Man" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 28 | No elimination Switch-Up Week with Aoibhín Garrihy |
8 | Charleston / "Cabaret" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | Safe |
9 | Jive / "Proud Mary" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 19 | Eliminated |
Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
1 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | No elimination |
2 | Tango / "Rebel Rebel" | 6 | 8 | 7 | 21 | |
3 | Samba / "New Rules" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | Safe |
4 | Contemporary Ballroom / "Let It Go" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
5 | Paso Doble / "Titanium" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
6 | Tango / "Green Light" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | No elimination Switch-Up Week with Alannah Beirne |
7 | Charleston / "Bang Bang" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
8 | American Smooth / "Achy Breaky Heart" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 | Safe |
9 | Rumba / "Secret Love Song" Team Dance / "Party Rock Anthem" | 8 8 | 8 8 | 8 9 | 24 25 | Safe |
10 | Jive / "Time Warp" Swing-a-thon / "You Can't Stop the Beat" | 9 Extra | 10 4 | 10 Points | 29 33 | Safe |
11 | Foxtrot / "Dancing in the Moonlight (It's Caught Me in Its Spotlight)" Salsa / "Don't Stop the Music" | 8 10 | 8 10 | 8 10 | 24 30 | Safe |
12 | Tango / "Rebel Rebel" Charleston / "Bang Bang" Showdance / "This Is Me" | 9 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 9 10 10 | 28 30 30 | Runners-up |
Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
1 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | No elimination |
2 | Cha-cha-cha / "Cut to the Feeling" | 3 | 3 | 4 | 10 | |
3 | Foxtrot / "After All" | 4 | 5 | 5 | 14 | Last to be called safe |
4 | Salsa / "One Night Only" | 6 | 6 | 8 | 20 | Safe |
5 | Rumba / "Dance with My Father" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 16 | Safe |
6 | Salsa / "Dance Again" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 26 | No elimination Switch-Up Week with Mairéad Ronan |
7 | Viennese Waltz / "Fallin'" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Eliminated |
Week No. | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Total | Result | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Redmond | Barry | Benson | ||||
1 | No dance performed | - | - | - | - | No elimination |
2 | Tango / "Bang Bang" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | |
3 | Jive / "Dear Future Husband" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 20 | Safe |
4 | Salsa / "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 | Safe |
5 | Contemporary Ballroom / "Unstoppable" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | Safe |
6 | Quickstep / "Out of Our Heads" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 23 | No elimination Switch-Up Week with Brian Dowling |
7 | Quickstep / "Paper Rings" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 25 | Safe |
8 | Viennese Waltz / "Waltz of the Flowers" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | Safe |
9 | Paso Doble / "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" Team Dance / "Physical" | 8 8 | 9 8 | 8 8 | 25 24 | Bottom two |
10 | Samba / "Wonder Woman Theme" Rock-Til-You-Drop / "Happy Days" | 7 Awarded | 8 2 | 7 points | 22 24 | Safe |
11 | Foxtrot / "Falling" Charleston (with Stephen Vincent) / "Dance Apocalyptic" | 9 10 | 9 10 | 9 10 | 27 30 | Runners-up |
From September 2021, he appeared as a professional dancer on the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing , partnered with television presenter AJ Odudu. [15] In their first week the couple topped the leaderboard with a score of 34 for their jive to Gold Dust by DJ Fresh. Judge Motsi Mabuse hailed the routine "the best dance of the evening, without a doubt." [16] The couple qualified for the final but had to withdraw the day before after Odudu suffered an ankle injury.
For the twentieth series, Widdrington was partnered with Loose Women panellist, Kaye Adams. They were the first couple to be eliminated from the series after losing the first dance off to Matt Goss and Nadiya Bychkova. On 30 November 2022, it was announced he would dance with Alexandra Mardell for the 2022 Strictly Christmas Special; they eventually won the competition with a perfect score on their quickstep.
For the twenty-first series, Widdrington was partnered with television presenter and journalist, Angela Rippon. They finished 7th, being eliminated in week 9 after losing the dance off to Bobby Brazier and Dianne Buswell.
Series | Partner | Place |
---|---|---|
19 | AJ Odudu | 3rd |
20 | Kaye Adams | 15th |
21 | Angela Rippon | 7th |
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
Dance | Partner | Highest | Partner | Lowest |
---|---|---|---|---|
American Smooth | AJ Odudu | 35 | Angela Rippon | 28 |
Argentine Tango | 34 | |||
Cha-cha-cha | Angela Rippon | 28 | ||
Charleston | AJ Odudu | 39 | Kaye Adams | 22 |
Couple's Choice | 36 | |||
Foxtrot | AJ Odudu Angela Rippon | 31 | ||
Jive | AJ Odudu | 34 | ||
Paso Doble | Angela Rippon | 32 | AJ Odudu | 28 |
Quickstep | AJ Odudu | 40 | Angela Rippon | 26 |
Rumba | 39 | 31 | ||
Salsa | 30 | |||
Samba | 28 | |||
Showdance | ||||
Tango | Kaye Adams | 21 | ||
Viennese Waltz | AJ Odudu | 37 | ||
Waltz | 38 | Angela Rippon | 28 |
Week | Dance & Song | Judges' Score | Total | Result | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
1 | Jive / "Gold Dust" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 34 | No Elimination |
2 | Foxtrot / "Tears Dry on Their Own" | 7 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
3 | American Smooth / "I Have Nothing" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
4 | Samba / Don't Go Yet | 5 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 28 | Safe |
5 | Argentine Tango / "Edge of Seventeen" | 8 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 35 | Safe |
6 | Viennese Waltz / "Dangerous Woman" | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 37 | Safe |
7 | Charleston / "Don't Bring Lulu" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 39 | Safe |
8 | Paso Doble / "Game of Survival" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Safe |
9 | Waltz / "Edelweis" | 9* | 10 | 10 | 9 | 38 | Safe |
10 | Couple's Choice / "Make Me Feel" | 9 | 8* | 10 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
11 | Salsa / "Rhythm Is Gonna Get You/Get on Your Feet" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 30 | Bottom two |
12 | Quickstep / "Sing Sing Sing" Rumba / "Show Me Heaven" | 10 9 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 40 39 | Safe |
Week | Dance & Song | Judges' Score | Total | Result | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
1 | Tango / "Voulez-Vous" | 6 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 21 | No Elimination |
2 | Charleston / "Music! Music! Music!" | 4 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 22 | Eliminated |
Week | Dance & Song | Judges' Score | Total | Result | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Du Beke | ||||
1 | Cha-cha-cha / "Get the Party Started" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 | No Elimination |
2 | Foxtrot / "You Make Me Feel So Young" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
3 | Quickstep / "Do-Re-Mi" | 6 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 26 | Safe |
4 | Rumba / "Rise Like a Phoenix" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 31 | Safe |
5 | Argentine Tango / "Tanguera" | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 34 | Safe |
6 | Charleston / "Theme from Murder, She Wrote " | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 33 | Safe |
7 | Waltz / "Fascination" | 7 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 28 | Bottom two |
8 | Paso Doble / "Hung Up" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | Bottom two |
9 | American Smooth / "Tea for Two" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 28 | Eliminated |
From 2016 to 2021, Widdrington was in a relationship with professional dancer and fellow Dancing with the Stars professional, Giulia Dotta. [17] [18] In June 2022, it was reported that he is in a relationship with fellow Strictly professional dancer, Nadiya Bychkova.
In Sept 2024, Widdrington announced he was to appear at "Dancing With The Stars Weekends" 2025. [19]
Strictly Come Dancing is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of judges. The title of the show is a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing. The format has been exported to 60 other countries under the title Dancing with the Stars, licensed by BBC Worldwide, and led to a modern dance-themed spin-off Strictly Dance Fever. The Guinness World Records named Strictly as the world's most successful reality television format in 2010. The series is currently presented by Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman. Bruce Forsyth co-presented the series with Daly until 2014.
James Jordan is an English ballroom dancer and choreographer. His dance partner is his wife Ola Jordan, with whom he turned professional in 2000. Jordan appeared as a professional on Strictly Come Dancing from 2006 to 2013. In August 2014, he participated in the fourteenth series of Celebrity Big Brother. He finished in third place. He returned as an All-Star for the nineteenth series, where he was evicted in thirteenth place.
Pavel "Pasha" Kovalev is a Russian professional Latin and ballroom dancer.
Artem Vladimirovich Chigvintsev is a Russian professional dancer, specializing in Latin dancing.
Onatejiro "AJ" Odudu is a British television presenter. She is best known for co-presenting the 2013 Channel 5 reality show spin-off Big Brother's Bit on the Side, alongside Emma Willis and Rylan Clark, and the 2021 Channel 4 reality show spin off Married at First Sight: Afters. In October 2023, Odudu began co-hosting the ITV2 revival of Big Brother alongside Will Best, and the pair began hosting the spin-off Celebrity Big Brother in 2024.
Giovanni Pernice is an Italian professional dancer based in the United Kingdom, best known for his appearances on the British television show Strictly Come Dancing. He is also an Italian Open Latin Dance Champion (2012), and the Guinness World Record holder for Jive kicks and flicks, as well as Charleston swivels.
Alex Joseph Pritchard is a British dancer and choreographer. In 2013, he auditioned for the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent along with professional partner Chloe Hewitt, where they reached the semi-finals. From 2016 to 2019, Pritchard appeared as a professional dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing. In 2020, he participated in the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!
Katya Jones is a Russian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for being a professional dancer in the competition show Strictly Come Dancing, which she won in 2017 with her dance partner Joe McFadden. In the 2020 series, Jones was paired with the retired professional and Olympic champion boxer Nicola Adams, the first same-sex couple to compete in the UK competition's format.
Amy Dowden is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show Strictly Come Dancing. Dowden joined the series in 2017, and in 2019, she was a finalist in the seventeenth series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Dowden and her partner Ben Jones are former British National Latin Dance Champions. She has the Guinness World Record for the most back-Charleston kick-steps in 30 seconds (2022).
Nadiya Bychkova is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin American dancer who is a multiple-time Slovenian Ballroom and Latin Champion and two-time World and European Champion in '10' Dance. In 2017, she joined the British television show Strictly Come Dancing as a professional dancer. She holds two Guinness World Records at Strictly's Pro Challenge for the most dance steps in 30 seconds - for fleckerls in 2020 and pat-a-cakes in 2021.
Johannes Radebe is a South African dancer and choreographer.
John Nolan is an Irish dancer and choreographer. He is an Irish national ballroom and showdance champion. Nolan is known for being a dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.
Curtis Pritchard is an English dancer and choreographer, known for his role as a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. In 2019, Pritchard appeared in the fifth series of the British dating reality series Love Island, finishing in fourth place.
Ryan McShane is a Northern Irish dancer and choreographer. He, alongside his professional partner, Ksenia Zsikhotska, were the 2016 United Kingdom & British Latin Professional Champions and British Show Dance Champions. He is also known as being one of the professional dancers on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars.
Giulia Dotta is an Italian dancer and choreographer. She started dancing from an early age specialising in latin and ballroom dance and has had competition experience at both national and international levels. She is best known for being a professional dancer on the Irish series of Dancing with the Stars.
Ksenia Zsikhotska is a Ukrainian dancer and choreographer. She is best known for her role as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars. She, alongside professional partner, Ryan McShane, were the 2016 United Kingdom & British Latin Professional Champions & British Show Dance Champions.
Strictly Come Dancing Live! is a nationwide arena tour in the United Kingdom which was first staged in 2008 and has continued every year since. It is directed and co-choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing judge Craig Revel Horwood.
Strictly Come Dancing returned for its nineteenth series with a launch show on 18 September 2021 on BBC One, and the live shows beginning on 25 September. Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman returned as hosts, while Rylan Clark-Neal returned to host Strictly: It Takes Two alongside new presenter Janette Manrara, who replaced Zoe Ball. In June 2021, the BBC announced that Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, and Craig Revel Horwood would return to the judging panel. Anton Du Beke, who served as a guest judge in the previous series, joined the panel in place of Bruno Tonioli, who did not return for the second year in a row due to travel restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Jowita Przystał is a Polish ballroom dancer. She is known for appearing on The Greatest Dancer and Strictly Come Dancing as a professional.
Dancing with the Stars returned for a fifth series on 9 January 2022 on RTÉ One. This was the first series in two years after the show was put on a year-long hiatus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite journal requires |journal=
(help)