Strictly’s tour wars
EIGHT ballroom couples launch rivals to off icial show (and at £35 a self ie they’ll waltz all the way to the bank!)
THEY are deadly rivals on the dancefloor – and now the professionals of Strictly Come Dancing are to become rivals at the box office, too. At least eight touring shows featuring stars of the show are hitting the road, hoping to cash in on the BBC ratings-winner. And that’s in addition to the official Strictly Come Dancing Live show currently touring the country’s biggest arenas. However, the spin-off shows are visiting less glamorous locations, from Rhyl to Rotherham; Barry Island to Barrow-in-Furness. Dancers might be forgiven for wanting to cash in on Strictly fever, given their TV fee is an estimated £40,000 – so stars are charging up to £82.50 for tickets that include a meet-and-greet and a selfie.
A source involved in one show said: ‘These shows are a long way from the glamour of the series itself, but these dancers are not paid much and are looking for ways to earn extra cash. Though with so many there’s a fear that there will be a lot of empty seats.’ Those on tour are: Siberian dancer Kristina Rihanoff on a 40-night Dance To The Music tour with Robin Windsor and Oksana Platero, where £21 tickets rise to £53 if you want a photo; Ola and James Jordan, promising an ‘uncensored’ evening of ‘dirty dancing’, where the £82.50 VIP tickets include a meetand-greet; Anton Du Beke and partner Erin E Boag in The Golden Age of Hollywood; Not to be confused with The Magic Of Hollywood starring Pasha Kovalev and Anya Garnis – reuniting for the sake of the tour despite their romantic split; Kevin and Karen Clifton, ignoring reports their marriage has crumbled for a 37-night tour; Brendan Cole in a 56-show tour called All Night Long; Oti Mabuse and Ian Waite in Rhythm Of The Night; Aljaz Skorjanec and wife Janette Manrara in a Fred Astaire tribute show, Remembering Fred.