Strictly Come Dancing 2020 line-up | Meet contestant Bill Bailey
Bill Bailey made a return to the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom this week, but while he managed to come joint fourth of the Strictly Come Dancing leaderboard with a healthy 24 points, it wasn’t the comedian’s best week.
The Strictly Come Dancing judges pointed out that for one of the contestant’s in the Strictly Come Dancing line-up, who has made very few mistakes, his Jive to One Way or Another by Blondie wasn’t his best performance.
Bill has had better weeks on the BBC one show. In Week Four, he scored an impressive 27 points with his Couple’s Choice to Rapper’s Delight by The Sugarhill Gang.
The comedian is a natural performer and incorporates his own music and physical comedy in his stand-up act – a talent which has helped him speed past many of the other contestants.
Will his score be enough to keep him out of the dance-off and get him one step closer to the Strictly Come Dancing final?
One spot away from the bottom of the leaderboard, Bill will have to secure some extra points from the viewers at home when they make their Strictly vote ahead of the results show on Sunday.
As the competition heats up, here’s everything you need to know about the Strictly star.
Who is Bill Bailey?
Age: 55
Instagram: @the_bill_bailey
Twitter: @BillBailey
Job: Stand-up comedian and actor
Partnered with: Oti Mabuse
Bailey began his comedy career in the 80’s, performing stand-up on the circuit and various comedy shows before landing his own TV series on the BBC in 1998 – Is It Bill Bailey?
From then on, he began appearing on various panel shows, such as Room 101, Have I Got News for You and Des O’Connor Tonight before acting in Simon Pegg and Jessica Hynes’ off-beat comedy Spaced.
In 2000, he starred in Channel 4 sitcom Black Books as Manny Bianco alongside Dylan Moran and Tamsin Grieg, and two years later, became a team captain on musical quiz show Never Mind the Buzzcocks.
He has since taken acting roles in Hot Fuzz, Skins, Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang, Chalet Girl, Doctor Who and currently stars in In the Long Run opposite Idris Elba.
In addition to his acting career, Bailey is a skilled pianist and guitarist, regularly incorporating both instruments and his musical abilities into his stand-up routines.
He shares a son with his wife Kristin, who he married in 1998 and lives in London with.
Bill Bailey’s Strictly journey so far
Scoreboard
Week One: Cha Cha (3 + 6 + 6) = 15
Week Two: Quickstep (8 + 8 + 8) = 24
Week Three: Paso Doble (9 + 9 + 8) = 26
Week Four: Couples’ Choice (8+10+9) = 27
Week Five: American Smooth (8+9+8) = 25
Week Six: Jive (8 + 8+ 8) = 24
Bailey had a slow start, scoring just 15 points in Week One and landing himself in 8th place.
But a much better performance in Week Two saw a marked improvement in his score, earning 24 points and soaring up the leaderboard – winning impressive comments from the judges and the viewing public in the process.
In Week Three, he and Oti excelled with their Western-inspired Paso Doble.
And in Week Four, Bill impressed even more, shooting up to the third spot on the leaderboard with 27 points.
Craig Revel Horwood told Jonathan Ross: “I love Bill Bailey. He’s amazing. I was dissing him before, I’d never seen him dance.”
Sadly, he slipped down slightly to fifth place, scoring 25 points for his American Smooth in Week Five.
He managed to finish joint fourth in Week Six, however, score one less point for his Jive as Shirley Ballas pointed out he’d made various mistakes during his performance.
Bailey’s Strictly signing was announced by the show back in September.
Sharing a statement, the BBC One dance competition wrote on their Twitter page: “In these strange times we’re living through, it feels right to do something different and take on a new challenge.”
Yes… it’s no joke. Award-winning comedian, presenter, multi-instrumentalist and soon-to-be ballroom dancer Bill Bailey, is booked for #Strictly 2020! ????
???? https://t.co/n4uDADTFgJ @BillBailey pic.twitter.com/OMNFprtZNA
— BBC Strictly ✨ (@bbcstrictly) September 3, 2020
Responding to the news, Bailey added: “So I am delighted to be a part of this year’s unique Strictly Come Dancing. My late mum Madrin would have loved it – I hope she’ll be watching.”
