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Kai Widdrington
English dancer and choreographer From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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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.
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Early life
Widdrington was born in Southampton, England[1][2] to former Premier League footballer Tommy Widdrington and mother Candice.[3] 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.[4] Widdrington also has a younger sister.[5]
Widdrington is of part Chinese descent. His maternal grandfather is half Chinese and said to have been at school in the same class as actor Bruce Lee.[6]
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Career
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Britain's Got Talent
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.[7] 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.[8] The group managed to reach the semi-finals of the series, but were ultimately eliminated from the competition by that stage.[9]
Dancing with the Stars
In 2017, Widdrington was announced as one of the professional dancers for the first series of Dancing with the Stars in Ireland.[10] He was partnered with comedian and actress Katherine Lynch. They were eliminated in week nine of the competition, finishing in sixth place.[11]
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.[12]
In 2019, Widdrington was partnered with teenage actress Demi Isaac Oviawe.[13] They were eliminated in week seven of the competition, finishing in eighth place.[14]
In 2020, Widdrington was paired with Miss Universe Ireland 2018, Gráinne Gallanagh.[15] 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.[16]
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
1 This score was awarded during Switch-Up Week.
Series 1
Celebrity partner: Katherine Lynch
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Julian Benson.
- Darren Bennett filled in for Julian Benson during Week 5.
- Darren Bennett also filled in for Julian Benson during Week 6.
- Kai danced with Aoibhín Garrihy for this week only as it was Switch-Up Week.
- Darren Bennett once again filled in for Julian Benson during Week 7.
Series 2
Celebrity partner: Anna Geary
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Julian Benson.
- Darren Bennett filled in for Julian Benson during Week 2.
- Kai danced with Alannah Beirne for this week only as it was Switch-Up Week.
- Anna & Kai were awarded 4 extra points for coming second place in the Swing-a-thon.
Series 3
Celebrity partner: Demi Isaac Oviawe
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Julian Benson.
- Kai danced with Mairéad Ronan for this week only as it was Switch-Up Week.
- Darren Bennett filled in for Julian Benson during Week 7.
Series 4
Celebrity partner: Gráinne Gallanagh
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Brian Redmond, Loraine Barry, Julian Benson.
- Kai danced with Brian Dowling for this week only as it was Switch-Up Week.
- Darren Bennett filled in for Julian Benson during Week 8.
- Darren Bennett also filled in for Julian Benson during Week 9.
- Darren Bennett once again filled in for Julian Benson during Week 10.
- Gráinne & Kai were awarded 2 extra points for coming fourth place in the Rock-Til-You-Drop.
- Gráinne & Kai danced their Charleston with Stephen Vincent.
- Darren Bennett, for the fourth week running, filled in for Julian Benson during Week 11.
Strictly Come Dancing
From September 2021, he appeared as a professional dancer on the nineteenth series of Strictly Come Dancing, partnered with television presenter AJ Odudu.[17] 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."[18] 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.
In 2024 Widdrington returned for the twenty-second series but was not paired with a celebrity partner. He went on to win the Christmas Special dancing a Cha-cha-cha with Welsh drag queen Tayce, in December 2024, with Tayce becoming the first drag queen to compete on Strictly Come Dancing. The pair scored maximum points from all four judges.[19][20]
For the twenty-third series, Widdrington was partnered with television personality Vicky Pattison.
Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance
Series 19
Celebrity partner: AJ Odudu
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
- Cynthia Erivo filled in for Craig Revel Horwood during Week 9.
- Cynthia Erivo also filled in for Motsi Mabuse during Week 10.
Series 20
Celebrity partner: Kaye Adams
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
Series 21
Celebrity partner: Angela Rippon
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
Series 23
Celebrity partner: Vicky Pattison
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
Christmas Specials
- Notes
- Individual judges' scores are listed in the following order: Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke.
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Personal life
From 2016 to 2021, Widdrington was in a relationship with professional dancer and fellow Dancing with the Stars professional, Giulia Dotta.[22][23] In June 2022, it was reported that he was in a relationship with fellow Strictly professional dancer, Nadiya Bychkova, but they were reported to have ended their relationship in July 2024.[24]
Dance tours
In September 2025, Widdrington & Lauren Oakley announced they were to appear at "Dancing With The Stars Weekends" 2026.[25]
References
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