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The Strictly Come Dancing gang in their own words: From the group aunt to who will win



Every year, the stars of Strictly Come Dancing form firm friendships with one another and this year is sure to be no different. 

The 2019 contestants all met for the first time just weeks ago but it doesn’t take long to build bonds in the ballroom and by the time this year’s official launch rolled around, the phrase “Strictly family” had already been used plenty of times. 

There has already been some drama in the form of Jamie Laing’s early exit, but what else can we expect from the series? And what do the contestants really make of each other? 

This year’s cohort shared their thoughts with Standard Online… 

Fancy footwork: This year’s Strictly contestants at the show launch (Lia Toby/Getty Images)

Who is the best dancer?

In a straw poll, the contestants named CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual as the contestant who had the best moves but Laing, who sadly had to exit the competition before it even began, also claimed Catherine Tyldesley would make for tough competition. 

Strictly Come Dancing release trailer ahead of new series

“This one over here has it,” he said, singling her out. “She has it. When you look at someone, she has it.”

He said of Zeroual: “I think he has a little bit of, you know when you look at someone and think ‘God they’d just be so great in bed’, that’s Karim. Everything moves the right way.”

Twinkle toes: Several of the contestants said Karim was the best dancer (Getty)

Explaining why he’s had his eye on Zeroual’s moves, Dev Griffin said: “I’ve been quite impressed with [him] in training, he can do flips, and scissor kicks and all that sort of stuff.

“I don’t know where he’s going to fit that into any of the ballroom styles.”

What advice have previously Strictly stars given them? 

Corrie actress Tyldesley, who is pals with a lot of celebs who have competed before, said: “I know a few people who have done it before – Gemma Atkinson, Lisa Riley, Tina O’Brien – they’ve all said the exact same thing, which is just enjoy it, because if you don’t let go of your inhibitions you’re just going to be really stressed.”

Meanwhile, Saffron Barker scooped some advice from a fellow YouTuber. 

“Joe [Sugg] has just said be yourself and work really hard,” she said. “That’s the advice everyone’s give us.”

Star: Pixie Lott told Jamie Laing the experience was “terrifying” and “exhilarating” (BBC )

EastEnders’ Emma Barton has tapped up her co-star Jake Wood, who told her: “If all else fails, just wiggle those hips girl.” Yes, really.

“It worked for him,” she added. “I don’t think it will work as well for me as it did for him.”

And James Cracknell has spoken to series four star Matt Dawson. “He did well,” he said. “Once he got over that bit of being able to throw himself totally in, he got a lot better. His advice was, he wore something really bad and argued with Craig [Revel Horwood, a judge] in the first week, and said that didn’t go down well. So he said: ‘Don’t wear anything stupid and don’t argue.’”

King of the dancefloor: Jake Wood told Emma Barton “If all else fails, wiggle those hips” (BBC)

The inside gossip

The celebs share a curated selection of updates on their Instagram pages but what happens away from the show’s cameras?

Naturally, there’s a WhatsApp group and it looks like the soap stars are already firm pals. 

“Cath is lovely, we’ve got a really really nice cast” Barton said. “She’s really great Cath, she’s called Auntie Cath for a really good reason.

Aunt of the group: Catherine Tyldesley helps ease the contestants’ aches and pains (PA)

“She’s literally like Mary Poppins. If you’re saying: ‘Oh I feel a little bit sore’, she’ll say: ‘Here you are babes, have some of this, have some of that’. She looks after us all, it’s wicked.”

Dishing the dirt on the WhatsApp group, Griffin said: “There’s a lot of back and forth in it, from Michelle Visage mainly. She was giving us updates because she wasn’t able to come to the first few days of training.”

The Strictly Come Dancing launch show aired on BB1 last night and is now avaliable on iPlayer. 



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