Jason Gilkison: Choreographer for Strictly Come Dancing
The Documentary Podcast
BBC
4.3 • 2.7K Ratings
🗓️ 23 February 2026
⏱️ 27 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Jason Gilkison has for the past 10 years been the creative force behind the UK's top rating TV show, Strictly Come Dancing, better known around the world as Dancing with the Stars. Jason is an eight-time World Choreographer nominee who has become internationally renowned for his work creating dance spectaculars for the small screen. Katie Derham talks to Jason about his journey from professional dancer to becoming one of the world’s top – and most watched – choreographers. TV director Nikki Parsons explains how she and Jason collaborate to translate dance on to the small screen and the particular challenges of choregraphing for the TV cameras. And costume designer Vicky Gill describes the importance of designing costumes that catch the eye. Plus, we go behind the scenes as Jason puts the dancers through their paces to create a showstopper for the final of Strictly Come Dancing 2025.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts. |
| 0:06.7 | And here we go. |
| 0:08.2 | Five and six and five, six, seven, eight, one and two, three and four and five and six and seven, eight and one. |
| 0:18.9 | The unmistakable sound of a dance rehearsal. |
| 0:24.1 | Feet hitting the floorboards, breathless counting, intense concentration. |
| 0:31.1 | But this isn't just any dance studio. |
| 0:35.5 | This is the epicentre of a primetime TV show, strictly come dancing, also known as |
| 0:41.9 | Dancing with the Stars in the US. |
| 0:45.3 | And make sure, when I've punctuated those, it's finale, watched by an audience of over |
| 0:53.2 | 10 million will open with a spectacular group dance. |
| 0:57.5 | They've got just two weeks to prepare for it, and there's one man in charge. |
| 1:01.4 | Do you want a little bit of music? |
| 1:03.2 | Yeah. |
| 1:03.6 | We need to be a lot of music. |
| 1:08.1 | Hello and welcome to the documentary in the studio from the BBC World Service. |
| 1:13.5 | I'm Katie Derham, and for this edition I'm spending time with one of the world's most influential choreographers, Jason Gilkison. |
| 1:20.3 | It's a shiny floor or light entertainment on a Saturday night, but I just love presenting something to an audience that excites them. |
| 1:28.4 | We'll understand how he, as director of choreography for Strictly Come Dancing, |
| 1:33.6 | translates the dazzling energy of dance onto our TV screens. |
| 1:37.7 | So many people can work on the minutiae of something or work with a couple. It's an extraordinarily different talent to work |
| 1:48.7 | with an ensemble. It's a very short period of what we have, you know, so you are hurting kittens |
| 1:53.9 | around and sometimes we are like children. It's a bit like pinch me moment every single time |
... |
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