Strictly Come Dancing is a backstage shake-up as professional dancers perform in celebrity couples.
Nancy Xu and Michelle Tsiakkas Broke Rank this week to express their disappointment at being left without celeb partners for the 2025 series, which begins airing live on Saturday night.
With an excess of professionals every year, some of its professional ranks are strongly promised. Along with Nancy and Michelle, Luba Mushtuk and Neil Jones have also missed out this year.
Meanwhile, Gorka Marquez, who has been dancing on the show since 2016, confirmed ahead of the new series that he will not be competing this year as he juggles work as a judge on the Spanish version, which is strictly with his role as a British dancer.
Instead, these dancers will have more prominent roles in pro routines, as well as regular appearances on BBC2 Spin Off Show Show That Takes Two and a greater chance to squeeze out a partner for a one-off Christmas special.
Despite their reduced roles on the show, all professional dancers are reportedly paid between £35,000 and £50,000 per episode, regardless of whether they have a celebrity partner.
Strictly Come Dancing backstage shake-up as professional dancers speak out in celebrity couples and now their pay can be revealed
On Wednesday night, another strictly professional dancer, Michelle Tsiakkas, broke ranks to admit she was “gutted” she didn’t have a celebrity partner for the 2025 series.
Dancers have the opportunity to earn more, however, banking another £35,000 if they are asked to perform on the Strictly Live Tour after the series.
Meanwhile, Celeb contestants are believed to be paid the same fixed fee each, starting at a minimum of £25,000, even if they leave in the first week.
If they make it to the fourth week, they receive an additional £40,000, and if they take part in the Blackpool Special and Quarterfinals, they receive £60,000.
The semi-finalists are reportedly banking on £75,000, with the winner tipped to take home a whopping £100,000.
The celebrities are expected to train for up to 10 hours a day, six days a week with their professional partners, before performing live on the BBC every Saturday.
When it comes to professionals who are paired up, they are expected to put in hours of work choreographing the routine.
The process for matching pro dancers with celebrities remained largely unchanged throughout the show’s 23 episodes.
The couples are decided after speed dating style exercises to make sure the celebrities are paired with the pros they have the most chemistry with.
The video came just 24 hours after her close friend and fellow Strictly Pro Nancy Xu shared her message, admitting she felt “left out” by the show
The “Speed Dancing” event is one of the first rehearsals held in the summer before the show, starting in mid-September.
During the intense day, the celebrities have a short dance and chat with each professional while production staff watches, checking out each potential couple’s chemistry.
They also have to take into account the height differences between the dancers and the stars. The producers then set the games.
ITV star Ross King, who recently appeared in the 2025 series, gave a little insight into the process, admitting: “It was like the first day of school… everyone was so warm and welcoming. The ‘speed dances’ were really funny. All the men get into a circle.”
“All the female pros are from the outside. Then you do a little waltz. Then they move on, and then you dance again… it’s a little chemistry test. Chemistry dealing with WHO.”
2024 Celeb contestant Angela Rippon revealed how “they did eight bars of the Cha Cha. And what happened is we all danced eight bars with whoever was in front of us. Then after eight bars they moved on.”
Despite their reduced roles on the show, all professional dancers are reportedly paid between £35,000 and £50,000, regardless of whether they have a celebrity partner.
“So we had the next one, and then they went on and it was like speed dating. We all ended up playing music, so we all danced with each other three times.”
It is believed that all the celebrities who have previously appeared on Strictly Christmas specials were deliberately not matched with the professionals they appeared with on the switch-on show.
Strong sources suggested earlier this week that Benched Pro Nancy Xu was furious after Gladiator star Harry Aikines-Ararey, who she teamed up with for the Christmas special, was paired with Karen Hauer for the 2025 series.
An insider told the Sun that Nancy is concerned that forces are working against her.
The source said: “Nancy is upset that she has been pinned again – despite having a brilliant run-in with Harry during the Christmas series.
The pairings are decided after a speed dating style exercise to ensure that the celebrities are paired with the pros they have the most chemistry with
“It’s not the first time this has happened, and she says she thinks there might be some deeper issue that she’s not aware of.”
She was paired with Jamie Borthwick for the Christmas special to win, and when he joined the men’s series last year, he was paired with Michel Tsiakkas.
Insiders add that Nancy understands that she can’t dance with the same partner because they would have an advantage, but she can’t figure out why she’s not getting the celebrity treatment.
Nancy, Michelle and Neil Jones have all expressed their support for the show despite their complaints, with Neil, who also missed out on a partner in 2022 and 2023, reflecting his distaste and declaring “with or without a partner, I just love being on Strictly.”
