Viewers will no longer be able to vote via calling in, with it now to be decided entirely by online voting.
Until now, fans had the option to either call a number to vote for their favourite contestant to go through, or vote online.
However, the BBC has said that this is an “outdated system and also expensive to run”.
🚨 | The BBC have announced the end of phone voting. This means the upcoming series of #Strictly will be entirely decided by online voting.
This also means UK viewers will vote online in #Eurovision for the first time! Unsure about whether that will still be a premium, however.
— sᴜᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴠ (@superTV247) September 8, 2025
They added: “Online voting has become the go-to choice for most viewers. In fact, the overwhelming majority of votes for the last Strictly series were cast online.
“And earlier this year, BT, the company that provided these phone services for the BBC, announced it would stop offering them in early 2025.”
As a result, phone voting across BBC shows as a whole will also no longer be offered.
Fans welcome decision to end phone voting on Strictly Come Dancing
Strictly Come Dancing fans seemed to be happy with the decision to end phone voting, as many said they always did it online.
Reacting to a post on X (formerly known as Twitter) announcing the news, one person said: “About time tbh – phone voting is a thing of the past”.
Another posted: “I couldn’t even tell you the last time I did a phone vote for Strictly. It’s so easy to vote online.”
A third commented: “Most people don’t vote that way. Text, website etc is the way now.”
Another shared: “This is going to change the voting demographics somewhat.”
One wrote: “This could be a game changer for #Strictly – although most people vote online anyway because they get x5 free votes online.”
Viewers will need to have a BBC account to vote on shows from the broadcaster.
Recommended reading:
They said: “If you already have a BBC account, you don’t need to do anything.
“During voting, you’ll be directed to the show’s website where the voting link will be clearly shown.”
They continued: “We know this is a change for some viewers, so we’ll be sharing clear instructions during shows like Strictly to explain how to get set up and vote.”
