Sequins, spray tan, spandex ... Behind the velvet curtain on Strictly
By Maureen Paton
Last updated at 8:06 PM on 29th October 2011
Dust off your soft shoes and join YOU behind the scenes at the nation’s favourite primetime dance show, as we catch up with the Strictly Come Dancing contestants backstage
Anton Du Beke with fellow professional dancer Kristina Rihanoff and his celebrity dance partner Nancy Dell’Olio. ‘I invariably get the celebrities who are never going to be favourites to win,’ says Anton. ‘Kate Garraway, Ann Widdecombe and Nancy Dell’Olio — the strong characters’
Outside the BBC studios in West London, queuing for the best seats has become a British tradition, like Wimbledon
From left: actress Chelsee Healey checks her mobiles; Nancy in her curlers
Actress Anita Dobson and former boxer Audley Harrison try out the judges’ chairs
Judges Bruno Tonioli, Len Goodman and Craig Revel Horwood show their cuddly side during a break in the BBC courtyard
From left: former footballer Robbie Savage and Chelsee compare spray tans; is that excitement or terror on Anita’s face?
The score monitor backstage, where the contestants’ results are totted up
Tess Daly on Sir Bruce Forsyth (left): ‘Bruce always looks for the laugh; I’m the timekeeper, with the producers shouting in my earpiece’; Lulu in rehearsal
Presenter Alex Jones interviews actor and fellow contestant Jason Donovan for The One Show. ‘After the camp dancing in Priscilla Queen of the Desert, it’s nice to throw some quieter shapes,’ says Jason
Flavia Cacace coaches astrologer Russell Grant. ‘Our signs match — she’s Pisces, I’m Aquarius, so it’s destiny that we are dancing together,’ says Russell
Former MP Edwina Currie rests the ankle that she broke in January
From left: McFly drummer Harry Judd tries to commit his steps to memory; Lulu is crimped by hairdresser Kevin Moss
Robbie and Ola Jordan rehearse
From left: Tess Daly in make-up; Ola is primped and preened
From left: actress Holly Valance checks her appearance before the show; Chelsee gets her make-up refreshed
From left: ‘The make-up people try their best to make all of us beautiful. But I’m quite difficult — because I usually do my own make-up, I know what I want,’ says Nancy; Flavia, who is dancing with Russell, has been a runner-up in the past
Costumes need to be organised
From left: Harry is given a last-minute tutorial from partner Aliona Vilani; impressionist Rory Bremner’s professional partner Erin Boag
From left: Daybreak’s Dan Lobb, the second contestant to be voted off, gets buttoned up; a gorgeous-looking Lulu is ready for action
Dan does a Brucie chin as he waltzes with Rory. ‘I call the waltz the Nick Clegg — you look like you are leading, but you’re not,’ quips Rory
From left: Holly’s partner, current champion Artem Chigvintsev, in rehearsal; Rory and Erin go through their moves
From left: Holly waits nervously outside Studio 1, where the show is recorded; Robbie works pink to the max
From left: Professional dancer James Jordan pumps those guns before performing with Alex; the super-supple Aliona warms up
From left: Vincent Simone with Edwina, the first to be voted off; Anita and Erin share a joke
From left: Jason and partner Kristina smile for the cameras; Brendan and Chelsee wait to go on
