Strictly Come Dancing is a well oiled machine and has been on screens for a whopping 19 years – but a lot goes on behind the scenes that fans might not be privy to.
With the beloved BBC show finally back on screens, viewers’ lives have suddenly become more fabulous and sparkly. But one fan has revealed the reality of what it takes to make the show so shiny.
Strictly super-fan Katie Lister headed to the live shows with her ballet teacher Diana Gulliford and she told SWNS that being there was “magical”. However she revealed some of the show secrets that really give it that fabulous feeling to viewers at home.
READ MORE: Strictly’s Katya Jones says ‘not in dance world’ as Nigel Harman makes faux pas
READ MORE: Want more TV? Daily Star has just the thing for you!
The duo of dance fans got to sit right by the judges’ table and saw host Tess Daly running up and down the aisle to film her bits for television. They even got to meet her and have a chat, with blonde beauty Tess sharing her Haribo too.
(Image: PA)
Katie said: “Tess was always behind reading her script and eating Haribo.” She also said that the judges were “always joking when the camera was not on them”.
The Strictly fan attended filming in 2019, which was the year Kelvin Fletcher won with Oti Mabuse. The judges at the time were Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli.
Katie said: “They were like naughty school kids that have to be tamed. Their scoring paddles were all under their chairs. Shirley kept hers neatly in a box but some of the others, they were all over the place.”
(Image: PA)
There’s plenty more than viewers at home don’t get to see too, including a warm-up comedian before the show. Katie explained there was even a floor manager who would cue everyone to clap.
And it turns out the camera operators have a bit of their own dance routines too. Katie said: “It’s really fun to see the camera men all over the dance floor and they kept running along our row in the audience too.
“They have their own incredible choreography to keep out of shot of the other cameras whilst getting really up close to the dancers.” She said watching it was “really magical”.
(Image: Courtesy of Katie Lister / SWNS)
As for the audience experience, Katie arrived at the studio at 4pm – more than two hours before the show starts airing. She said: “It was like walking into your TV set. I felt really at home there.”
But according to Katie, it isn’t actually as glamorous as it seems on screen. She revealed that the set is actually covered in screws and gaffer tape.
She added that she was “amazed at how casual it was”. But there were also strict rules in place to make sure nothing leaked – although fans of the show know that never stops the elimination from being spoiled.
(Image: BBC)
Katie and Diane had to give their phones in when they arrived. And audience members weren’t allowed to go to the toilet while filming was on either.
Filming for the result show was described as a “military operation”. Hardcore fans will know the results are filmed on the Saturday night, after the main show, and then aired on Sundays.
Because of that, filming went on until around midnight – but Katie loved it. She said: “It’s a big happy family. There was lots of Strictly sparkle.”
Strictly Come Dancing airs Saturday at 6.15pm
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
