| Presenter: | Grant Denyer Terasa Livingstone (Season 1) Kate Ritchie (Season 2) Erika Heynatz (Season 3) |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
| Opentheme: | "It Takes Two" by Marvin Gaye and Kim Weston |
| Num Seasons: | 3 |
| Num Episodes: | 30 |
| Runtime: | approx 90 to 120 minutes per episode (including commercials) |
| Network: | Seven Network |
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.
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.
The first season premiered on Sunday 28 May 2006 and concluded on Sunday 6 August 2006. It featured the following celebrities:
| Celebrity | Occupation | Professional singer | Genre/s eliminated on | Song/s eliminated on | Placing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erika Heynatz | Model & television presenter | David Hobson | – | – | bgcolor=lime | Winners |
| Sarah Ryan | Former Olympic swimmer | Guy Sebastian | R&BPop song | "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5"Angels Brought Me Here" by Guy Sebastian | bgcolor=orange | Runners-up |
| Mark Furze | Home and Away cast members | Rachael Beck | SwingMusical | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli "Beauty and the Beast" by Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion | Eliminated 8th | |
| Kate Ritchie | Troy Cassar-Daley | Swing | "Route 66" by Sammy Davis, Jr. | Eliminated 7th | ||
| Richard Champion | Former AFL player | Wendy Matthews | – | "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News | Eliminated 6th | |
| Simon Reeve | Television presenter | Paulini Curuenavuli | Ballad | "Reminiscing" by Little River Band | Eliminated 5th | |
| Michael Bevan | Cricketer | Jade MacRae | – | "With or Without You" by U2 | Eliminated 4th | |
| Kate Fischer | Model & actress | Dave Gleeson | Rock & Roll | "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley | Eliminated 3rd | |
| Judy Nunn | Actress & author | Glenn Shorrock | Musicals | "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls | Eliminated 2nd | |
| Richard Zachariah | Journalist & television presenter | Karen Knowles | Rock | "Gloria" by Van Morrison | Eliminated 1st |
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.
| Couple | EP 1 | EP 2 | EP 3 | EP 4 | EP 5 | EP 6 | EP 7 | EP 8 | EP 9 | EP 10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erika/David | 26 P | 30 M | 31 R&R | 34 N1 | 30 B | 32 C | 34 R | 73 S, R&B | 73 PR, D | 112 FA, SL, J |
| Sarah/Guy | 25 P | 28 M | 26 R&R | 27 N1 | 30 D | 28 C | 33 S | 68 R, B | 61 PR, R&B | 101 FA, SL, J |
| Mark/Rachael | 30 P | 23 M | 28 R&R | 32 N1 | 31 B | 35 D | 33 R | 71 S, R&B | 64 PR, C | |
| Kate/Troy | 24 P | 26 M | 30 R&B | 27 N1 | 24 B | 36 R&R | 35 R | 66 C, SW | ||
| Richard/Wendy | 29 P | 23 M | 21 R&B | 25 N1 | 25 D | 32 R&R | 28 C | |||
| Simon/Paulini | 25 S | 30 R | 29 R&B | 22 N1 | 30 D | 25 B | ||||
| Michael/Jade | 25 S | 23 R | 28 R&B | 24 N1 | 29 C | |||||
| Kate/Dave | 20 S | 22 R | 24 R&R | 22 N1 | ||||||
| Judy/Glenn | 27 P | 27 M | 23 R&B | |||||||
| Richard/Karen | 16 S | 18 R |
Erika Heynatz and her partner David Hobson were eventually declared the winners, defeating Sarah Ryan and her partner, Guy Sebastian.
This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.
| Rank by average | Competition finish | Couple | Total | Number of performances | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erika & David | 475 | 14 | 33.9 | ||
| 2 | Sarah & Guy | 427 | 14 | 30.5 | ||
| 3 | Kate & Troy | 269 | 9 | 29.9 | ||
| 4 | Mark & Rachael | 314 | 11 | 28.5 | ||
| 5 | Simon & Paulini | 161 | 6 | 26.8 | ||
| 6 | Richard & Wendy | 183 | 8 | 26.1 | ||
| 7 | Michael & Jade | 129 | 5 | 25.8 | ||
| 8 | Judy & Glenn | 77 | 3 | 25.7 | ||
| 9 | Kate & David | 88 | 4 | 22.0 | ||
| 10 | Richard & Karen | 34 | 2 | 17.0 |
The second season premiered on Tuesday, 8 May 2007 and concluded on Tuesday, 10 July 2007. It featured the following celebrities:
| Celebrity | Occupation | Professional singer | Genre/s eliminated on | Song/s eliminated on | Placing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jolene Anderson | All Saints actress | David Campbell | – | – | bgcolor=lime | Winners |
| Jo Stanley | Radio broadcaster | Anthony Callea | Rock 'n' Roll Professional Hit | "Johnny B. Goode" by Chuck Berry "The Prayer" by Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli | bgcolor=orange | Runners-up |
| Mimi Macpherson | Environmentalist & television presenter | David Hobson | Swing Movies | "My Baby Just Cares for Me" by Nina Simone "Hanky Panky" by Madonna | Eliminated 8th | |
| Ernie Dingo | The Great Outdoors presenter | Rachael Beck | Rock | "Solid Rock" by Goanna | Eliminated 7th | |
| Daniel Kowalski | Former Olympic swimmer | Kate Ceberano | The 80s | "Walking on Sunshine" by Eddy Grant | Eliminated 6th | |
| Bob Morley | Home and Away & The 100 actor | Jade MacRae | 70s & 80s | "Hold the Line" by Toto | Eliminated 5th | |
| Julia Zemiro | Comedian & television presenter | Dave Gleeson | Rock & Roll | "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley | Eliminated 4th | |
| Russell Gilbert | Comedian | Wendy Matthews | Number One Hits | "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry | Eliminated 3rd | |
| Krystal Forscutt | Zoo Weekly columnist & model | Troy Cassar-Daley | Ballad | "Heaven" by Bryan Adams | Eliminated 2nd | |
| Lochie Daddo | Actor & television presenter | Paulini Curuenavuli | Swing | "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra | Eliminated 1st |
| Celebrity/Singing partners | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 61 | Week 7 | Week 82 | Week 92 | Week 103 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jolene Anderson/David Campbell | 32 | 30 | 33 | 36 | 37 | 45 | 40 | 78 | 75 | 115 | |
| Jo Stanley/Anthony Callea | 30 | 28 | 33 | 30 | 33 | 40 | 28 | 63 | 74 | 105 | |
| Mimi Macpherson/David Hobson | 28 | 19 | 26 | 23 | 24 | 35 | 28 | 61 | 69 | ||
| Ernie Dingo/Rachael Beck | 26 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 22 | 37 | 33 | 61 | |||
| Daniel Kowalski/Kate Ceberano | 20 | 28 | 30 | 33 | 28 | 40 | 31 | ||||
| Bobby Morley/Jade MacRae | 26 | 26 | 24 | 30 | 28 | 37 | |||||
| Julia Zemiro/Dave Gleeson | 22 | 27 | 28 | 33 | 31 | ||||||
| Russell Gilbert/Wendy Matthews | 27 | 31 | 31 | 27 | |||||||
| Krystal Forscutt/Troy Cassar-Daley | 23 | 30 | 26 | ||||||||
| Lochie Daddo/Paulini Curuenavuli | 22 | 20 |
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.
This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.
| Rank by average | Competition finish | Couple | Total | Number of performances | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jolene & David | 512 | 14 | 36.6 | ||
| 2 | Jo & Anthony | 456 | 14 | 32.3 | ||
| 3 | Russell & Wendy | 116 | 4 | 29.0 | ||
| 4 | Daniel & Kate | 202 | 7 | 28.9 | ||
| 5 | Julia & David | 141 | 5 | 28.2 | ||
| 6 | Ernie & Rachael | 253 | 9 | 28.1 | ||
| 7 | Mimi & David | 306 | 11 | 27.8 | ||
| 8 | Bobby & Jade | 164 | 6 | 27.3 | ||
| 9 | Krystal & Troy | 79 | 3 | 26.3 | ||
| 10 | Lochie & Paulini | 42 | 2 | 21.0 |
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:
| Celebrity/Singing partners[2] | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 51 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Week 82 | Week 92 | Week 103 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Julia Morris/David Hobson | 29 | 32 | 35 | 33 | 38 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 69 | 117 |
| Russell Robertson/Kate Ceberano | 31 | 32 | 33 | 33 | 36 | 36 | 33 | 70 | 72 | 109 |
| Virginia Gay/Ian Moss | 35 | 32 | 34 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 38 | 75 | 69 | |
| Paul O'Brien/Jade MacRae | 22 | 25 | 19 | 22 | 23 | 19 | 30 | 59 | ||
| Candice Falzon/Anthony Callea | 24 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 33 | 29 | 28 | |||
| Sara Groen/Adam Harvey | 30 | 27 | 23 | 30 | 27 | 31 | ||||
| Chloe Maxwell/David Campbell | 29 | 29 | 29 | 32 | 28 | |||||
| Scott Draper/Ricki-Lee Coulter | 28 | 31 | 30 | 27 | ||||||
| Mark Wilson/Rachael Beck | 27 | 31 | 22 | |||||||
| John Mangos/Wendy Matthews | 21 | 24 |
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.
This chart is based on the celebrities averages and not their place in the competition.
| Rank by average | Competition finish | Couple | Total | Number of performances | Average | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Julia & David | 487 | 14 | 34.8 | ||
| 2 | Russell & Kate | 485 | 14 | 34.6 | ||
| 3 | Virginia & Ian | 379 | 11 | 34.5 | ||
| 4 | Chloe & David | 147 | 5 | 29.4 | ||
| 5 | Scott & Ricki Lee | 116 | 4 | 29.0 | ||
| 6 | Candice & Anthony | 199 | 7 | 28.4 | ||
| 7 | Sara & Adam | 168 | 6 | 28.0 | ||
| 8 | Mark & Rachael | 80 | 3 | 26.7 | ||
| 9 | Paul & Jade | 219 | 9 | 24.3 | ||
| 10 | John & Wendy | 45 | 2 | 22.5 |
Season 1 was a hit for the Seven Network, providing them with solid numbers post, 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".[4] 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.