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.
Production begins much earlier in the year
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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.
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
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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
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
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
