Come Dancing was a BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 TV ballroom dancing competition show that ran on and off from 1949 to 1998, becoming one of television's longest-running shows.

The show was created by Eric Morley

Eric Morley

Eric Douglas Morley was born in Holborn, London, England. He was the founder of the Miss World pageant. He was married to now head of the pageant Julia Morley from 1960.-Life and career:...

, the founder of Miss World

Miss World

The Miss World pageant is the oldest surviving major international beauty pageant. It was created in the United Kingdom by Eric Morley in 1951...

, and began in 1949 by broadcasting from regional ballroom studios, with professional dancers Syd Perkin and Edna Duffield on hand to offer teaching.

In 1953 the format changed to become a competition, with later series seeing regions of the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 going head to head for the coveted trophy.

The many presenters over the years included Peter West

Peter West

Peter Anthony West was a BBC presenter and sports commentator best known for his work on the corporation's cricket, tennis and rugby coverage as well as occasionally commentating on field hockey. Throughout his television career he remained freelance.-Early life:He was an only child...

, McDonald Hobley

McDonald Hobley

McDonald Hobley, born Dennys Jack Valentine McDonald-Hobley, was one of the first BBC Television continuity announcers, appearing from 1946 to 1956.-Childhood and early career:...

, Charles Nove

Charles Nove

Charles Alexis Nove born in London, is a long standing news and continuity voiceover announcer for BBC radio and television. In recent years he has provided holiday relief for BBC Radio 2 and what used to be Saga Radio in Scotland, and following John Marsh's retirement in February 2007 he became...

, Terry Wogan

Terry Wogan

Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...

, Brian Johnston

Brian Johnston

Brian Alexander Johnston CBE, MC was a cricket commentator and presenter for the BBC from 1946 until his death.-Early life and education:...

, Angela Rippon

Angela Rippon

Angela M. Rippon, OBE, born 12 October 1944, Plymouth, Devon, England, is an English television journalist, newsreader, writer and presenter. Rippon presented radio and television news programmes in South West England before moving to BBC One's Nine O'Clock News, becoming a regular presenter in 1975...

, Michael Aspel

Michael Aspel

Michael Terence Aspel, OBE is an English television presenter, known for his reserved demeanour and rich speaking voice. He has been a high-profile TV personality in the United Kingdom since the 1960s, presenting programmes such as Crackerjack, Aspel and Company, This is Your Life, Strange But...

, Noel Edmonds

Noel Edmonds

Noel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...

, David Jacobs

David Jacobs (disc jockey)

David Lewis Jacobs CBE is a British actor and broadcaster who gained prominence as presenter of the peak-time BBC Television show Juke Box Jury and the BBC Radio 4 political forum, Any Questions?-Early career:...

, Judith Chalmers

Judith Chalmers

Judith Chalmers OBE is an English television presenter who is best known for presenting the travel programme Wish You Were Here...? in the 1970s and 1980s, where she often appeared in a bikini.-Early life and career:...

, Pete Murray, and Rosemarie Ford

Rosemarie Ford

Rosemarie Ford is an English dancer, actress and television presenter.-Television career:Ford is best known for her stint as the female host on the BBC TV game show The Generation Game with Bruce Forsyth in the early 1990s. She later hosted Come Dancing, again for the BBC...

. Commentators included Ray Moore

Ray Moore (broadcaster)

Raymond Moore was a British broadcaster who was best known for his long running early morning show on BBC Radio 2....

 and Bruce Hammal.

In 2004, a re-launched celebrity version entitled Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing is a British television show, featuring celebrities with professional dance partners competing in Ballroom and Latin dances. The title of the show suggests a continuation of the long-running series Come Dancing, with an allusion to the film Strictly Ballroom...

, hosted by Bruce Forsyth

Bruce Forsyth

Sir Bruce Joseph Forsyth-Johnson, CBE , commonly known as Bruce Forsyth, or Brucie, is an English TV personality...

 and Tess Daly

Tess Daly

Helen Elizabeth "Tess" Daly is an English television presenter. She is married to the presenter Vernon Kay.-Early life:Daly was born in Derbyshire to Vivian , who died of emphysema, and Sylvia Daly...

, debuted on BBC One

BBC One

BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...

, and became a popular hit on Saturday evenings. The format of the newer show has been successfully exported to other countries under the name Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars

Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...

.