It Takes Two was an Australian music talent show, which ran for three seasons from May 2006 to April 2008. It was based on the original UK programme Just the Two of Us.

Concept

The show paired celebrities with professional singers who each week competed against each other in a sing-off to impress a panel of judges and ultimately the viewing public in order to survive potential elimination. Through both telephone and SMS voting, viewers voted for the duo they thought should remain in the competition. Judges' scores were also taken into account and were combined with the viewer votes when determining which duos stayed and went each week. In all cases, the home viewers always had the final say. The show was originally referred to in the media as Singing with the Stars, partly because of the similarity in concept to Dancing with the Stars. Grant Denyer hosted It Takes Two between 2006 and 2008 with a various of female co-hosts such as Terasa Livingstone, Kate Ritchie and the most recent host from the 2008 season Erika Heynatz. Every season finale ended with all contestants, judges and hosts singing the show's theme song "It Takes Two", originally performed by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston, and the studio audience and home viewers were encouraged to join in the singing too. By the end of 2008, Seven Network announced that they had no plans for a fourth season.

On air

Season One (2006)

The first season premiered on Sunday 28 May 2006 and concluded on Sunday 6 August 2006. It featured the following celebrities:

Judges' scores

EP = Episode S = Swing, P = Pop, R = Rock, M = Movies/Musicals, R&R = Rock & Roll, N1 = Number Ones, B = Ballad, D = Disco, C = Country, PR = Professional Hit, R&B = R&B, FA = Fast, SL = Slow, J = Journey. Erika Heynatz and her partner David Hobson were eventually declared the winners, defeating Sarah Ryan and her partner, Guy Sebastian.

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

Season Two (2007)

The second season premiered on Tuesday, 8 May 2007 and concluded on Tuesday, 10 July 2007. It featured the following celebrities:

Judges' scores

1Week 6 featured a guest judge (Daryl Braithwaite), and scores were out of 50. 2Contestants in weeks 8 & 9 performed two songs, resulting with two scores out of 40, and added to out of 80. 3Contestants in the grand finale performed three songs, with three scores out of 40, and added out of 120.

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

Season Three (2008)

The third and final season of It Takes Two commenced on Tuesday, 12 February 2008 and concluded on Tuesday, 22 April 2008. Erika Heynatz, winner of the show's first season was the new co-host alongside Grant Denyer. Here's all the celebrities featured in the final season:

Judges' scores

1Week 5 featured a guest judge (Dannii Minogue), and scores were still out of 40. She replaced Ross Wilson for the week, as he was unable to attend. 2Contestants in weeks 8 & 9 performed two songs, resulting with two scores out of 40, and added to out of 80. 3Contestants in the grand finale will perform three songs, with three scores out of 40, and added out of 120.

Average chart

This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.

Season summary

Ratings

Season 1 was a hit for the Seven Network, providing them with solid numbers post 7:30 pm, where on a Sunday; Seven had little success up against the Nine Network's 60 Minutes, and Big Brother and Australian Idol on Network Ten. Season 2 moved to a new night and time in 2007: 7:30 pm Tuesdays, airing in the slot usually occupied by the highly successful Dancing with the Stars. The premiere ranked third for the night, averaging 1.5 million viewers, behind Seven's news programming and ahead of a special extended edition of Nine's 20 to 1 episode "Great Movie One-Liners". The show managed to stay in the top 3 of the rating, and proved to be very successful for the Seven Network. In Season 3, with only one season of Dancing with the Stars to air later in 2008, It Takes Two was moved to February, however retained the highly successful timeslot of 7:30 pm on Tuesdays.