Strictly Come Dancing’s behind-the-scenes secrets as the series returns | Celebrity News | Showbiz and television

Strictly Come Dancing is back with a bang and last weekend saw celebrities take to the dance floor for their first live performance and fans are already buzzing with predictions as to who might make it to the grand final.

Early favorites predicted for success include former Love Island star Tasha Ghouri and EastEnders actor Jamie Borthwick. According to bookmakers, both are strong contenders.

“However, there are many things that fans don’t see behind the scenes, including unexpected filming delays, pre-recorded segments and the stars’ true rehearsal hours.”

As the Glitterball competition heats up, we delve into the behind-the-scenes secrets of one of the BBC’s most beloved shows, discovering the truth behind the glitz and glamor that attracts millions of viewers every week.

How long have they been practicing?

Strictly speaking, viewers probably assume that stars have a full five or six days to learn a new routine, but that’s definitely not the case.

Despite having Sunday to Saturday to practice their next routine, the couples have to take part in promotions and keep commitments to other TV appearances such as Strictly: It Takes Two and interviews on other shows such as Lorraine, and usually only have around three and a half days for rehearsal.

Speaking to the Daily Star last year, former pro AJ Pritchard said: ‘If you consider that Sunday is your day off because the results are broadcast on Sunday evening, but during the week you usually do promotion, you go to Lorraine during the week and talk about your experience to print, so you only have three and a half days in the studio to learn this dance.

Players must complete a minimum of 12 hours of training per week in a two-minute program.

However, some dedicated stars manage to do it in just one day, especially as the series heads into its final weeks.

How songs are chosen

Celebrities and professional dancers are expected to learn a new dance every week, but for professionals it’s even more work because they also have to choreograph their number for their celebrity partner.

Dancers are given a selection of songs to choose from that match the main theme.

The songs are always a mix of old and new songs to appeal to a wide audience, and then the professionals confirm their choice with the producers and start the choreography.

The band’s singers then spend the rest of the week learning the song and then performing it live on BBC One on Saturday night.

Why is there a delay in scoring

Viewers familiar with the show will know that it takes some time to hear the verdict from judges Anton Du Beke, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas.

This is because the judges must first inform the crew which oar they will be holding.

They have a special keyboard hidden under their desks where they report their score, so the crew can easily show it on screen to viewers at home, as well as instantly update the leaderboard.

Long days of filming

Although the show may only last a few hours on a Saturday evening and the results show is broadcast on Sunday, filming takes a lot of time.

Both episodes of the series are actually filmed on the same evening – Saturday’s show will be broadcast live to viewers’ homes, and Sunday evening’s show will be broadcast as if it were broadcast live.

There’s also a lot of footage that doesn’t appear in the final version of the show, and when filming a Sunday show, any slip-ups – which usually involve someone referring to the show as today’s rather than yesterday’s – can be easily spotted. removed for continuity reasons.

Group dances are filmed in advance

Some viewers may not realize that professional group numbers are actually filmed well in advance.

This allows the crew to be sure that their performances will be perfect, without the pressure of recording live.

While the show maintains a live format tailored to celebrity performances, pre-recording the professionals’ routines helps ensure that these complex and carefully choreographed numbers can be played without any issues during the live broadcast.

Lots of waiting and napping

Stars and their professionals have the opportunity to rehearse all day long, but remember to take a break before the big performance.

“We’ve got an hour or two before the live show, so we just turn off the lights and lie down in the dark,” former Strictly star AJ told The Mirror.

“I ended up falling asleep. Giovanni fell asleep. All professionals just fall asleep. We have a group nap where we are all calm.”

The judges have time to prepare their criticism

Saturday night is not the first time the judges have seen each pair perform this routine.

After Friday’s studio rehearsal, the pairs take part in a full dress rehearsal on Saturday morning – again in the Elstree studio – which the four judges watch in their dressing room.

The judges don’t receive any scoring or critique advice, but this preview helps give them some ideas before the live show.