Dancing with the Stars
International logo of Dancing with the Stars
Created by	Fenia Vardanis[1] Richard Hopkins[2] Karen Smith[3][4]
Original work	Strictly Come Dancing (United Kingdom)
Years	2005–present
Films and television
Television series	Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing with the Stars, etc, (independent international versions, see below)
Miscellaneous
Genre	Dance
First aired	15 May 2004; 21 years ago (2004-05-15)
Distributor	BBC Studios
Based on	Come Dancing by Eric Morley

Dancing with the Stars is an international television franchise based on the format of the British television series Strictly Come Dancing, itself a successor to the show Come Dancing (1950–1998). It is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. As of 2012^[update], the format has been licensed to 60 territories.^[5]

Versions have also been produced in dozens of countries across the world. As a result, the series became the world's most popular television programme among all genres in 2006 and 2007, according to the magazine Television Business International,^[6] reaching the Top 10 in 17 countries.

The show pairs a number of well known celebrities with professional ballroom dancers, who each week compete by performing one or more choreographed routines that follow the prearranged theme for that particular week. The dancers are then scored by a panel of judges. Viewers are given a certain amount of time to place votes for their favorite dancers, either by telephone or (in some countries) online. The couple with the lowest combined score provided by the judges and viewers is eliminated. This process continues until there are only two, three, four, or five couples left; when they have competed for the last time one couple is declared the champion and wins a trophy.