The 2022 series of Strictly Come Dancing may be over, but there’s still the small matter of the upcoming Christmas special before the doors to the ballroom close for another year.
In the Christmas Day special, six brand new celebrities – including Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts and Gavin & Stacey actor Larry Lamb – will be taking to the floor in a festive extravaganza.
For the special’s producer Carl Webber, it’s an extra magical show to work on and, having previously cut his teeth as a researcher on Strictly companion show It Takes Two a decade ago, he’s seen Strictly from a completely different angle.
“It Takes Two was very different because that was a daily show and you’re seeing it from a different perspective, almost like a fan,” he explains. “You’re with the celebs and the pros talking about things, but you’re not involved in the day-to-day.
“What I do now, I’m involved in the concepts, choosing the music, the costumes, so it’s a completely different role.
“I hadn’t done it for seven years, so doing the Christmas special last year, you already know some of the pros, you feel you know everyone, and know it all a little bit more.”
In the final instalment of our Backstage At The Ballroom interview series, Carl lifts the lid on how the one-off Christmas episode is put together amid the madness of the main show, and reveals some of the surprises in store for us this festive season…
The Christmas special is run completely separate from the main series…
I come in about eight weeks before the show airs, at the beginning of October. When I start, Stefania the celeb booker is busy booking away, so when I started there were a couple of names in the pot. We also know who some of the pros might be, because they’ve already been eliminated on the main show, then we start pairing up.
Then the executive producer Sarah and creative director Jason and I start thinking, “if we do have Nicola Roberts or George Webster, what songs do we do?”. We then sit down to go through the concepts. That beginning process takes about a month of deciding, which is the whole of October.
But we still have to make sure there’s plenty of communication with the main show…
The Christmas show and the main show speak so that everyone is in the place that they need to be. The main show for the pros is the priority, so we have to be in tandem to make sure that everything runs smoothly. The pros are so busy – they have the main series, It Takes Two, press and their other commitments.
The couples start training at the beginning of November…
Like last year, we have celebs who’ve never done Strictly before, which is amazing because they’re really excited and they’ve not been in that bubble, and they just thrown themselves into it and love it. Like Moira Stuart last year, you have people who wouldn’t have the time to do a whole series, but they give us the time that they do and they love it.
The studio’s Christmas makeover happens in less than 24 hours…
They come in on Saturday, do the main show and record the results show, and then the ballroom is completely transformed, and I can see pictures of the Christmas set the next day and it’s in, it’s lit and it looks amazing.
We filmed this year’s Christmas special on a Wednesday, and after we’d finished recording, stuff was being taken down ready for that weekend’s show. The team effort is incredible, it is so brilliantly run.
There are some real surprises from this year’s cast…
It’s nice to have people on that dance floor that you haven’t seen before, so you’re not going into it knowing that they are a good dancer and what you’re going to get. Everyone in this cast is really, really brilliant and there are some real surprises. Everyone can dance. It’s like, if you did the main show, you could actually be in the final, the level is really high.
There’s also a return from Bruno, and it’s a moment everyone is going to be talking about…
The legend who is Bruno Tonioli is this year’s guest artist, and it’s incredible. He’s singing Don’t Leave Me This Way, that Christmas classic!
It’s so Bruno, it’s so Strictly, really Christmassy and really camp – it’s anything but subtle. He’s the icon that he is.
Having him back is such a treat and it’s a moment that everyone is going to talk about. It’s a highlight of the show and it’s one of those things I’m grateful to be a part of.
It was really special to have Girls Aloud in the audience supporting Nicola…
That was a moment! I’m a Girls Aloud fan, and I’d worked with Nadine and Cheryl before on other shows, to have them together was amazing. It was a really special moment and those four girls together feels really special.
I’d love to do a Girls Aloud special. Any – any – chance to get them all together!
My dream celeb booking for Strictly would be…
Miriam Margolyes, I would love it. And the thing about Strictly is that, obviously it is very serious, but you’re free to do what you want. There’s so much fun to be had with Miriam and who knows if she can dance or not. I would love to see her on that dance floor. Let’s start a campaign with Stef [the celeb booker] now!
My favourite ever Strictly routine is…
Lisa Riley and Robin Windsor at Wembley and they’re doing Car Wash. She does a cartwheel and there’s a lovely moment where Bruce [Forsyth] is with her and the audience are going mad and chanting her name and she just can’t believe it. This is the lovely thing about Strictly, you just have those moments where you watch them over and over again.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special airs at 5.10pm on Christmas Day on BBC One and iPlayer.