Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Charlotte Smith

Strictly's behind-the-scenes secrets as judge Bruno Tonioli quits show after 18 years

Strictly Come Dancing hasn't been without its dramas and, as the BBC 's biggest show, that should come as no surprise.

From break ups, marriages and shock departures to coronavirus discussions, affair rumours and fix claims, the series has often found itself at the centre of all sorts of attention.

More recently, fans were left devastated as long-time favourite Bruno Tonioli reportedly quit the show as a judge after 18 years.

It has been reported that the beloved judge, who had to miss last year’s series due to Covid travel restrictions, will be shifting his focus to be a judge on Dancing With The Stars US.

But besides all the dramas, what about the show's behind-the-scene secrets? Secrets that even die-hard Strictly fans may not be aware of?

With the 2022 series due to return this September, here we take a look at some of the show's biggest backstage secrets.

Winners Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice with the glitterball trophy during the final of Strictly Come Dancing 2021 (PA)

Production begins much earlier in the year

Get the news you want straight to your inbox. Sign up for a Mirror newsletter here

Strictly's casting team begin their hunt for new celebs early in the year, usually booking up stars to join the production team through their agents around late spring.

The professional dancers will then commence rehearsals towards the end of July, with the line-up of celebrities taking part to be announced to the public in August.

Filming of the show takes place shortly after in late August and early September.

Strictly Come Dancing's stage as show set to return this autumn (BBC - Photographer: Guy Levy)

How the songs are picked

The celebrities and professional dancers are tasked with learning a new dance each week, but for the pros, there's even more work involved as they also need to choreograph their number for their celebrity partner.

The dancers are given a pool of songs to choose from, which fit with the theme. It is always a mix of old and new songs to appeal to everyone and from there, they decide on a track and get choreographing.

The in house singers then get the rest of the week to learn the song before performing it live on Saturday night

.

Judi Love and Graziano Di Prima during the dress run for Strictly Come Dancing 2021 (PA)

Why there's a delay in scoring

Viewers familiar with the show will know that it takes a little while to hear the verdict of judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas.

That's because the judges need to let the crew know first of all which paddle they're going to hold up.

They have a special keypad hidden under their desks where they submit their score, so the crew can seamlessly show it on the screen for viewers at home as well as update the leaderboard straight away.

How changes are made to make it a look like a different night

The celebrity and professional dancers during the Strictly Come Dancing Live Tour press launch (PA)

Some audience members are moved around if they are sat in prominent places so they aren't filmed in the same spot on the Saturday and Sunday.

Presenters Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly also change their hair and outfits, as well as the judges.

Long days of filming

While the show may only been on for a couple of hours on a Saturday night - and the results show broadcasted on Sunday - filming takes a long time.

Both episodes of the show are filmed on the same evening, with the Saturday show coming live to people's homes and the Sunday night show being broadcasted as if it is live.

There is also a lot of footage which doesn't appear on the final edit of the show and with the filming of the Sunday show, any slip-ups - for example, where someone refers to the show as today and not yesterday - can easily be edited out for continuity purposes.

Lots of waiting around - and naps

Nikita Kuzmin and Tilly Ramsay during a live show in 2021 (PA)

The celebrities and their pros get a chance to rehearse all day - but they make sure to get a break before the big show.

"We get an hour or two before the live show, so we just switch the lights off and lie down in the dark," former Strictly star AJ Pritchard told The Mirror.

"I ended up falling asleep. Giovanni fell asleep. All the pros just fall asleep. We have a group power nap where we’re all out of it."

Celeb contestants still have to audition for the show

Speaking to HuffPost, 2018 contestant Faye Tozer revealed that she did a "a little practise run” with one of the professional dancers.

She added: “I did a Waltz and a Samba or a Cha Cha for a few minutes with Aljaž. [The producers] had a watch and a chat and I just had to wait, and wait, and wait to see if they’d accepted me.”

Did you know any of these behind-the-scenes secrets? Let us know in the comments below

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.