Hello! Goes behind the screen with the stars Strictly for Christmas
HELLO! Magazine|January 02, 2017

Sequins, Secrets and a Sprinkling of Magic as Celebrities and Dancers Take to the Ballroom.

Dawn Emery
Hello! Goes behind the screen with the stars Strictly for Christmas

A Polar Express-style train is being pulled onto the Strictly Come Dancing set, Frankie Bridge is being helped into a costume inspired by Elsa from Frozen, there’s a lot of fake snow and crew members are all wearing Christmas jumpers. The festive spirit has most definitely arrived for the filming of the Christmas Day special.

“It’s so wonderful to be back,” says Pamela Stephenson, who is joining fellow Strictly alumni including Olympian Denise Lewis, TV presenter Gethin Jones, chef Ainsley Harriott and DJ Melvin Odoom.

Singer Frankie, the 2014 runner up, jumped at the chance to return. “I feel like I’ve used my Strictly resources now. I was a witch in the series [dancing to Wicked] and now I’m Elsa, so I’ll have to come back next year as something else,” she tells hello! as filming gets underway at Elstree studios in Hertfordshire.

Frankie is partnered with Spanish dancer Gorka Márquez, having previously danced with Kevin Clifton.

“We had a group rehearsal the other day and it was weird dancing with Gorka in front of Kevin,” laughs Frankie, who flew to Australia the day after filming the Strictly special to support her husband Wayne Bridge in I’m a Celebrity… Get Me out of Here!.

She keeps in touch with other stars from her series. “One of the reasons I loved it was because I made so many amazing friends,” she says. “When would I ever have met Judy Murray and become friends? It’s so cool.”

This story is from the January 02, 2017 edition of HELLO! Magazine.

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This story is from the January 02, 2017 edition of HELLO! Magazine.

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