Strictly Come Dancing: The Professionals - 14 behind-the-scenes secrets from the BBC special

The celebrities may be the focus of Strictly Come Dancing but the show wouldn’t exist without the professionals who tutor them.

Each year, a group of pros is tasked with whipping the celebrities into shape, choreographing the routines and providing a shoulder to cry on when the criticism gets a little too much.

But when each series airs, we find out way less about them than the celebs they’re paired with.

On Saturday night though, the BBC finally gave us a little extra time with the professionals, airing a special one-off show of interviews with them.

The 75-minute special saw the dancers lift the lid on everything from how they found out they were on the programme to their favourite Strictly moments of all time.

Here a 14 of the best secrets they revealed…

Oti Mabuse started dancing when she 4 years old

The South African-born dancer had the earliest start of all the pros, getting her dancing shoes on after being inspired by her older sisters.

Karen Clifton began giving a dance a go when she was eight years old, shortly after her family emigrated to New York.

Katya Jones, who grew up in Russia, was already competing at the age of 6

Meanwhile, Kevin and Joanna Clifton competed at the iconic Blackpool Tower ballroom before they were even in secondary school.

Aljaz Skorjanec, Gorka Marquez and Giovanni Pernice all said they got into dancing ‘for the girls’

When Oti asked Gorka and Giovanni why they decided to put their dancing shoes on, it didn’t take them long to answer.

Giovanni explained that he didn’t fancy a communal shower with the others boys after football practice (yes, really) and in a separate chat with Kevin Clifton, Aljaz explained: “All the boys went to football and basketball, they wanted to be policemen or firefighters.

“The girls were dancing and in the arts society so I was like, ‘Yeah, I’m going with the girls. I loved it.

Giovanni left home at 15

The Italian moved from his hometown in Sicily to Bologna, where he could attend a dance school.

He wasn’t the only dancer to say farewell to his family at an early age either as Johannes Rabedes also left his township in South Africa behind to pursue his dreams.

Neil Jones is a self-trained dressmaker

The pro, who will be paired with a celebrity for the first time ever this year, is capable of making the sparkly costumes seen on the show.

Many of the pros also worked side jobs, with Anton du Beke becoming a baker, in order to fund their expensive dancing ambitions.

Kevin Clifton was turned down for Strictly twice

His appearance at the audition wasn’t quite in keeping with the show’s sparkly style.

“I had long black hair, eyeliner, black fingernails,” he recalls, joking that he told the BBC: “Don’t think I’m your average ballroom dancer guys.”

Thankfully, Kevin later ditched the “gothic scarecrow” look and landed the job.

Oti tries to scare the celebs on purpose

The dancer - known as one of the toughest tutors on the programme - revealed she tries to give the celebs a fright when they’re taking part in the chemistry circle, which was discussed by Kevin earlier this week.

She explained that she then judges their reaction.

If they laugh, she said, she knows they’ll make a great pair.

Brian Conley prepared his own routine ahead of his first training session

The 2017 contestant stunned his pro partner Amy Dowden by performing a three-minute routine for her at the start of his first ever session.

The actor put Uptown Funk on, she explained, before doing a routine that consisted of “the same five moves” repeated.

“He was giving me all the facials,” she laughed. “[He was] saying, ‘you’re going to like this one, are you ready?’.”

Afterwards, they had a cup of tea.

Karen Hauer has an unusual approach to training

“She used to do a cat noise if I was getting it wrong or started getting tired,” Mark Wright revealed.

Dr Ranj took notes in training

The TV doctor - who was working shifts in a hospital while appearing on the show - noted down all of the tips he was given by Janette Manrara.

Giovanni sends encouraging texts

Debbie McGee and Faye Tozer bonded over the support they each received while dancing with Giovanni.

At the end of each day, the dancer would send his partner a text telling them everything they did well and reminding them of what there was to look forward to the next day.

The pros can all count through their teeth

A short compilation video revealed that while the dancers can be seen beaming with perfect smiles, they’re actually giving celebrities a count to follow.

Anton du Beke once adapted a dance live on the show

Katie Derham had been diligently practicing a waltz with her partner when shortly before the lights came up, he explained that if their pivots were going well, they’d keep doing them.

Fast forward to waltz and as the crowd cheered, Anton told Katie: “Keep going, keep going.”

Thankfully, dizziness was not a problem. Phew.

Jake Wood’s twerking was his idea

The EastEnders stunned viewers with his samba skills and one of the most memorable moments in the routine came when he took a break to shake his derriere mid-way through.

On Strictly: The Professionals, Wood revealed that he’d been struggling to learn a section of Janette’s choreography - so suggested he simply twerk instead.

Everyone went to see Ed Balls’ Gangnam Style rehearsal

And we don’t blame them.

“Nobody watches the dress rehearsals,” AJ Pritchard explained. “But everyone was there, producers, judges.”

Reflecting on the iconic route, Ed said: “I finished it and I turned over onto my back and just thought, ‘What has happened to my life?’.

Strictly: The Professionals is available to watch on iPlayer.