It Takes Two (Australian TV series)
It Takes Two was a short-lived 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 pairs celebrities with professional singers who each week compete 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 vote for the duo they think should remain in the competition. Judges' scores are also taken into account and are combined with the viewer votes when determining which duos stay and go each week.
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.
The 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. By the end of 2008, Seven Network announced that they had no plans for a fourth season.
On air
;Regular judges- Marina Prior
- James Valentine
- Ross Wilson
- Amanda Pelman
- Chong Lim
- Daryl Braithwaite
- Dannii Minogue
- Erika Heynatz
- Kate Ritchie
- Terasa Livingstone
Season One (2006)
| Celebrity | Occupation | Professional singer | Genre/s eliminated on | Song/s eliminated on | Placing |
| Erika Heynatz | Model & television presenter | David Hobson | – | – | Winners on 6 August |
| Sarah Ryan | Former Olympic swimmer | Guy Sebastian | R&B Pop song | "I Want You Back" by The Jackson 5 "Angels Brought Me Here" by Guy Sebastian | Runners-up on 6 August |
| Mark Furze | Home and Away cast members | Rachael Beck | Swing Musical | "Can't Take My Eyes Off You" by Frankie Valli and The Four Seasons "Beauty and the Beast" by Peabo Bryson and Celine Dion | Eliminated 8th on 30 July |
| Kate Ritchie | Home and Away cast members | Troy Cassar-Daley | Swing | "Route 66" by Sammy Davis, Jr. | Eliminated 7th on 23 July |
| Richard Champion | Former AFL player | Wendy Matthews | – | "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News | Eliminated 6th on 16 July |
| Simon Reeve | Television presenter | Paulini Curuenavuli | Ballad | "Reminiscing" by Little River Band | Eliminated 5th on 9 July |
| Michael Bevan | Cricketer | Jade MacRae | – | "With or Without You" by U2 | Eliminated 4th on 2 July |
| Kate Fischer | Model & actress | Dave Gleeson | Rock & Roll | "Suspicious Minds" by Elvis Presley | Eliminated 3rd on 25 June |
| Judy Nunn | Actress & author | Glenn Shorrock | Musicals | "Luck Be a Lady" from Guys and Dolls | Eliminated 2nd on 18 June |
| Richard Zachariah | Journalist & television presenter | Karen Knowles | Rock | "Gloria" by Van Morrison | Eliminated 1st on 4 June |
Judges' scores
;ScorecardEP = 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.
Average chart
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 |
Season summary
- There was no episode broadcast on 11 June due to the Seven Network's coverage of a rugby union international between Australia and England, therefore there were no contestant eliminations for that week.
- On 23 July, Larry Emdur was the fill-in host for Grant Denyer. This was due to Denyer's commitments in the second tier of the V8 Supercars series.
- Nick Lachey was a special guest in the grand finale on 6 August, who performed "What's Left of Me".
Season Two (2007)
| Celebrity | Occupation | Professional singer | Genre/s eliminated on | Song/s eliminated on | Placing |
| Jolene Anderson | All Saints actress | David Campbell | – | – | Winners on 10 July |
| 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 | Runners-up on 10 July |
| Mimi Macpherson | Environmentalist & television presenter | David Hobson | Swing Movies | "My Baby Just Cares for Me" by Nina Simone "Hanky Panky" by Madonna | Eliminated 8th on 3 July |
| Ernie Dingo | The Great Outdoors presenter | Rachael Beck | Rock | "Solid Rock" by Goanna | Eliminated 7th on 26 June |
| Daniel Kowalski | Former Olympic swimmer | Kate Ceberano | The 80s | "Walking on Sunshine" by Eddy Grant | Eliminated 6th on 19 June |
| Bob Morley | Home and Away & The 100 actor | Jade MacRae | 70s & 80s | "Hold the Line" by Toto | Eliminated 5th on 12 June |
| Julia Zemiro | Comedian & television presenter | Dave Gleeson | Rock & Roll | "Jailhouse Rock" by Elvis Presley | Eliminated 4th on 5 June |
| Russell Gilbert | Comedian | Wendy Matthews | Number One Hits | "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry | Eliminated 3rd on 29 May |
| Krystal Forscutt | Zoo Weekly columnist & model | Troy Cassar-Daley | Ballad | "Heaven" by Bryan Adams | Eliminated 2nd on 22 May |
| Lochie Daddo | Actor & television presenter | Paulini Curuenavuli | Swing | "Come Fly with Me" by Frank Sinatra | Eliminated 1st on 15 May |
Judges' scores
| 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, 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.| 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 |
Season summary
- It was reported that celebrities Laura Csortan and Candice Falzon also auditioned, but were turned down for a "lack of basic singing ability".
- Kate Ritchie, a contestant in season one, also replaced Terasa Livingstone as co-host for this season.
- New singing partners included Anthony Callea, David Campbell and Kate Ceberano, replacing Guy Sebastian, Glenn Shorrock and Karen Knowles.
- On 15 May, Larry Emdur was the fill-in host for Grant Denyer. In this episode, Kate Ritchie made a comment that when he was the host last time, she got voted out from last season.
- On 12 June, the show featured a guest judge,
- On 26 June, the show featured a special guest, Canadian singer Michael Bublé who sang a few songs from his new album, Call Me Irresponsible.
Season Three (2008)
| Celebrity | Occupation | Professional singer | Genre/s eliminated on | Song/s eliminated on | Placing |
| Julia Morris | Television presenter | David Hobson | – | – | Winners on 22 April |
| Russell Robertson | AFL player | Kate Ceberano | Fast Slow Journey | "Can't Buy Me Love" by The Beatles "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" by Elton John "Home" by Michael Bublé | Runner Up on 22 April |
| Virginia Gay | All Saints actress | Ian Moss | Rock Professional Hit | "One" by U2 "Tucker's Daughter" by Ian Moss | Eliminated 8th on 15 April |
| Paul O'Brien | Home and Away actor | Jade MacRae | Swing | "Mack the Knife" by Bobby Darin | Eliminated 7th on 8 April |
| Candice Falzon | Ironwoman | Anthony Callea | Rock | "Hook Me Up" by The Veronicas | Eliminated 6th on 1 April |
| Sara Groen | Seven News weather presenter | Adam Harvey | Disco | "Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe" by Barry White | Eliminated 5th on 25 March |
| Chloe Maxwell | Television presenter | David Campbell | 80s | "Crazy For You" by Madonna | Eliminated 4th on 11 March |
| Scott Draper | Professional tennis player & golfer | Ricki-Lee Coulter | Ballad | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" by Michael Bolton | Eliminated 3rd on 4 March |
| Mark Wilson | Dancing With The Stars judge | Rachael Beck | Country | "9 to 5" by Dolly Parton | Eliminated 2nd on 26 February |
| John Mangos | Sky News Australia anchor | Wendy Matthews | Pop | "You Are the Sunshine of My Life" by Stevie Wonder | Eliminated 1st on 19 February |
Judges' scores
| Celebrity/Singing partners | 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, 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.| 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 summary
- Despite being turned down for a lack of basic singing ability in Season 2, ironwoman Candice Falzon is one of the contestants in Season 3.
- New singing partners in this season are Ricki-Lee Coulter, Ian Moss and Adam Harvey, replacing Paulini Curuenavuli, Dave Gleeson and Troy Cassar-Daley.
- Kate Ritchie declined to return for the third season of the show.
- Scott Draper, Mark Wilson, Julia Morris, John Mangos, and Russell Robertson appeared on the Deal or No Deal – It Takes Two special, which also aired on the Seven Network during the week of 3 February 2008.
- On 18 March 2008, a countdown special of It Takes Two aired for one hour highlighting each singing duos journey the final six have had throughout their stint in Season 3. Hence, no live performances were aired, therefore no contestant was eliminated that week.
Ratings
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.