BBC - Strictly Come Dancing 2009 - Jade Johnson & Ian Waite: Video and bios of the Strictly contestants

Jade and Ian

Jade's progress

Week 10: Jade was still unable to dance and on the advice of medics left the competition. See our News Story for full details.
Week 9: Jade was unable to dance. See our News Story for full details.
Week 8: Jive - 33 / 40
Week 7: Foxtrot - 35 / 40
Week 6: Samba - 32 / 40. In the dance-off with Jo Wood and Brendan Cole, but saved by the judges.
Week 5: Viennese waltz - 35 / 40
Week 4: Salsa - 29 / 40
Week 3: Quickstep - 31 / 40
Week 1 - Show 2: Rumba - 27 / 40
Week 1 - Show 1: Waltz - 25 / 40

View our weekly scoreboards gallery to see where Jade was placed.

You can join our Message Board to discuss Jade's journey and wish her well.

Watch clips

Week 8: Judges' comments

High point

"I think you’re the dark horse of this competition."

Low point

"You need to point your feet."

Jade Johnson

Britain’s belle of track and field, Olympic athlete Jade Johnson is a two-times Commonwealth Games and European Championship silver medallist.

Outspoken in nature, dance-mad Jade has always set herself high standards and hopes to proudly fly the flag for Britain when she takes part in London’s Olympic Games in 2012. Before this she hopes that her and Olympian training schedule will help her to leap ahead of the competition in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

I will be competitive with myself more than the opposition!

Jade Johnson

Jade has been an outstanding athlete since her schooldays, despite her difficult upbringing in Liverpool. In her own words she was a teenager who was "streetwise, very mouthy and quite boisterous", and athletics provided Jade with a more positive outlet for her energy and aggression. She won her first significant title (the Amateur Athletics Association under-15 title) in 1994, and, specialising in the long jump, she went on to make her international debut in 1995.

In 2002, Jade won silver at the Commonwealth Games and at the European Championships. The next year she narrowly missed out on a top three finish at the World Championships.

Most recently she was selected to represent Team GB in the 2008 Olympics. In the same year she achieved her best ever jump at the European Cup - 6.81m, securing second place.

Jade Johnson is well known for the coloured fishnet stockings she wears while jumping: "It started as a bet but has now become a superstition because every time I've not worn them I've jumped poorly. The only problem is I like to match. I'd like to wear pink or yellow fishnets but unless my kit matches then I'll have to go for laid-back colours. It is no longer a superstition; it is just part of me."

Ian Waite

Ian is 6’3” and started dancing when he was 10. His professional partner is Camilla Dallerup - they’ve been dancing together for nearly five years. His speciality is Latin American.

Ian started dancing when he was 10 at the County School of Dancing in Reading. His dad began dancing and took him and his younger brother to class every Saturday morning.

At the age of 13, Ian went on to the open competition circuit, where he achieved considerable success in the youth arena, becoming European Youth Latin American Champion.