The long-awaited return of Strictly Come Dancing brought with it the long-awaited return of Movies Week. However, the annual Strictly Special made its arrival a little bit earlier than usual, debuting on Week 2 of the 2026 series (instead of Week 3, which it has become a fixture of for years). It was all down to the show's commitment to ensure that every couple gets a chance to compete in at least one theme week. And boy, did they pull it off.
With that in mind, this year's edition of Week 3 will be back to your regularly-scheduled programming, with a routine line-up of dances (as well as the infamous Couples Choice). Naturally, there are questions about who will shine and who will struggle? Is it Dani and Nikita's moment? Will Delta and Kai continue their hot streak? Is it Tabby and Mark's turn to stand out with the Argentine Tango?
The biggest question of all, however, is: When does it all start? Let's find out!
Strictly Week 1 start time (and how long the third live show is tonight)
Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One tonight, Saturday October 10, at 6:15 p.m. BST. It will also be available to stream on BBC iPlayer at the same time. The early start time has become a fixture of Strictly 2026 so far, which makes total sense considering that there are still so many couples. We've only had one elimination at this point, so it will still be a long show.
Speaking of which, the episode will finish at 8:35 p.m. BST, meaning that it has a runtime of 2 hours and 25 minutes. That is 10 minutes shorter than last week's installment, which again makes sense as we are now one Strictly couple down.
Strictly Week 3 dances and songs feature classics and recent hits
It's hard to compare this year's Strictly Week 3 to any other year as it's the first time that we haven't had Movies Week in that third week. As the show is adopting a new, theme week every other week approach, it used the Movies theme last week, leaving this week as a regular one of dancing once again. And honestly, regular dancing is a good thing as many felt that Week 2 was far too soon for a theme week.
Despite the fact that we are still in the early stages of the competition, some real contenders have already emerged. Lacey and Vito continue to impress each and every week, while Graeme and Lauren have emerged as real contenders too. John and Katya were arguably the frontrunners after Week 1 but a rather mixed reception to their Couples Choice stifled that early momentum. And then there's Delta and Kai, who were at the top of the combined Leaderboard after two strong performances.
The slate has been wiped clean for Week 3, with each couple taking on new routines in the hopes of impressing Craig, Mosti, Shirley, and Anton. And we have some real potential show-stoppers based on the songs and dances, which hae been officially unveiled by the BBC:
- Bethany and Nancy – American Smooth to "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles
- Dani and Nikita – Tango to "Show Me Love" by Robin S
- Delta and Kai – Salsa to "Always There / Ain’t Nobody" by Jocelyn Brown / Chaka Khan
- Jaime and Carlos – Viennese Waltz to "Never Tear Us Apart" by INXS
- Lacey and Vito – Samba to "Bamboléo" by Gipsy Kings
- Melanie and Aljaž – Charleston –to "Ooh Ahh…Just A Little Bit" by Gina G
- Dame Sarah and Julian – Paso Doble to "California Dreamin" by Sia
- Tabby and Mark – Argentine Tango to "hate that I made you love me" by Ariana Grande
- Cach and Maddie – Couple’s Choice to "Beware.. The South London Lover Boy" by RAYE
- Graeme and Lauren – Jive to "Reet Petite" by Jackie Wilson
- John and Katya – Cha Cha to "Rock Your Body" by Justin Timberlake
- Lawrence and Jowita – Rumba to "back to friends" by sombr
- Shaun and Alexis – Quickstep to "I’m a Believer" by The Monkees
- Will and Dianne – Waltz to "With You I’m Born Again" by Billy Preston & Syreeta
Wishing the Very Best of Luck to all of the couples ahead of the highly-anticipated third live show!
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