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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Harry Rutter

Strictly stars post candid behind the scenes snaps before being partnered up at launch

Behind the scenes snaps have been shared ahead of Strictly's launch tonight.

The new hotly-anticipated series of Strictly Come Dancing starts on the BBC from 7pm this evening – but viewers have been given a sneak preview.

BBC Radio star Richie Anderson sneakily shared a carousel of snaps showing the cast and crew on the iconic dancefloor ahead of tonight's episode.

One of the pictures shows all the stars sat on the studio's stairs – all wearing sparkly outfits at what looks to be a glitzy dress rehearsal.

Another shows Richie with former Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds outside what appears to be a dressing room at the BBC studio.

Richie shared a selection of behind the scenes snaps (Instagram)
He showed off what looks to be his dressing room (Instagram)

"It’s finally here, the Strictly 2022 launch night. Tonight, you’ll see the moment I met my professional partner, who do you think my partner will be?" Richie penned alongside the gallery.

He added: "It still hasn’t sunk in that I’m going to be part of this incredible show with the loveliest group of people️. I’m always rubbish at remembering to take BTS pics when I do stuff, so I promise to take more going forward! Here’s what I’ve been up to for the last few weeks."

In the new series, both Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman are back, along with fifteen new Strictly ballroom contestants.

Richie filmed himself as he prepared for Strictly (Instagram)
He grabbed a selfie with series co-star Fleur East (Instagram)

Anton du Beke, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood are all returning for another year of judgement.

In tonight's episode, the new line-up of celebrities will be meeting their professional partners, setting the new Strictly season in motion.

This is a pre-recorded event, originally being filmed a few weeks ago to give the celebs time to practise with their partners ahead of the first live show.

The full line-up of Strictly 2022 stars was confirmed by the BBC last month; they include X Factor runner-up Fleur East, presenter Helen Skelton and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds.

Strictly Come Dancing launches at 7pm on the BBC (BBC/Ray Burmiston)

The full line-up of ballroom celebs are as follows: Will Mellor, Kym Marsh, Richie Anderson, Kaye Adams, Jayde Adams, Ellie Simmonds, Tyler West, Matt Goss, Ellie Taylor, Molly Rainford, Tony Adams, Fleur East, Hamza Yassin, James Bye and Helen Skelton.

There are four new dancers joining the team too - European cup winner Vito Coppola, Chinese national champion Carlos Gu, former Under-21 British national champion Lauren Oakley, and Latin dance champion Michelle Tsiakkas.

They will join Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Graziano Di Prima, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Cameron Lombard, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Giovanni Pernice, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington and Nancy Xu.

The new series of Strictly Come Dancing launches on Friday (September 23) from 7pm on the BBC. The first live show airs Saturday (September 24) from 6.45pm.

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