Strictly Come Dancing secrets: Abbey Clancey, Rachel Riley and the 2013 stars reveal all

Strictly Come Dancing secrets: Abbey Clancey, Rachel Riley and the 2013 stars reveal all

We've had to wait a couple of weeks for Strictly Come Dancing, since the launch show hit our screens, but it’s now time to settle down on the sofa as the real action begins.

And to whet your appetite for all the tears, tantrums and triumphs to come, we went behind the scenes at the preview show to meet the stars.

Presenter Tess Daly, who looks immaculate in the flesh, frantically fans herself with her notes in a bid to keep cool while Brucie, who doesn’t look bad himself, is allowed to perform a song and dance number by the producers.

When a thrilled audience member gets invited up for a shuffle, we aren’t the only ones wishing they’d get on with it.

Rod Stewart â€" here to perform his new song Can’t Stop Me Now â€" is getting equally hot and impatient, and ends up nipping out with his wife Penny for a drink in the green room. However, we do eventually catch up with the contestants afterwards, apart from Vanessa Feltz who dashes home so she can be up in time for her morning radio show.

Strictly kicks off next Friday 27 September at 9pm

 

Their bubbling excitement is contagious and the first celebrity we grab for a chat is supermodel Abbey Clancy. Supporting her in the audience are her impossibly young-looking mum Karen and her hubby, Stoke City’s Peter Crouch.

Abbey’s already a teeny size six, so we wonder if she’s dreading losing her boobs like Denise Van Outen claimed to have on last year’s show?

“Well, I’ve got none anyway!” Abbey, 27, laughs, cupping her perfectly proportioned bosom. “This is all padding and I’ve been trying to eat a lot more.”

The This Morning star lets on that she won’t be practising her steps with 6ft 7ins beanpole striker Pete at home.

“Oh, he loves dancing,” she grins. “Everyone does, don’t they? But I think it’ll just confuse me if I tried doing that.” At which point her handsome professional partner Aljaz Skornajec chips in, saying, “Well, Abbey does need to get used to my height!”

“Kirsty was a very difficult, troubled, dark character,” says Natalie

 

Next we bump into former Corrie star Natalie Gumede who, resplendent in sequins, says her inner drag queen has been released. Nat is unrecognisable from her violent soap character Kirsty, which is no doubt one of the reasons the actress is doing Strictly.

“Kirsty was a very difficult, troubled, dark character,” says Natalie, 29. “And I cannot protest enough the difference between myself and her! My partner Artem [Chigvintsev] has nothing to be scared about!”

Having attended stage school, Natalie inevitably has been accused of having an advantage over the competition.

“I did dance as a kid,” she admits. “I went to stage school, but I haven’t danced for 10 years. And I’ve never done any ballroom, so this is very different for me.”

One contestant who definitely hasn’t been to stage school is Countdown’s human calculator Rachel Riley, who has somehow ended up as the bookies’ favourite. Paired with lovely Pasha Kovalev, they’ll no doubt be hugely popular, but does Rachel have the technique?

“Well, I love bopping at weddings,” giggles the 27-year-old

 

“Well, I love bopping at weddings,” giggles the 27-year-old from Rochford, Essex, “but there’s dancing, and then there’s dancing. Jeff Stelling [her former Countdown co-star] texted me to say he used to do ballroom, so if I need any lessons he’s willing to help out.”

The pairing of singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Brendan Cole, meanwhile, should be?an interesting one because he’s got a reputation as a hard taskmaster while mum-of-three Sophie seems a potential diva. Could there indeed be Murder On The Dancefloor as the icy brunette once sang?

“I’ve changed a lot,” insists Brendan, 37, who, along with Anton du Beke, has been with the show since the start. “You learn what not to do. I’ve probably been a bit rubbish in the past. You want something that you can’t achieve and it doesn’t work, so you waste all this time doing it and it can be frustrating. But there’s a magic about Strictly â€" it’s a phenomenal bubble to be in and you feel so special.”

“I’ve never had a spray tan in my life,” the 34-year-old admits

 

However, we can’t imagine Sophie’s lily-white complexion being tango’d.

“I’ve never had a spray tan in my life,” the 34-year-old admits. “But I just know it’s going to happen.”

So who will be the first celeb booted off the show? Our money is on golfing legend Tony Jacklin, 69, who is admirably honest about why he signed up to Strictly. Not for him the gushing about learning a new skill, as Tony â€" paired with a po-faced Aliona Vilani â€" admits, “I’ve been living in Florida for 20 years so people have forgotten who I am. Here I am reminding people I’m not dead, even if I am deaf now!”

But which celeb will lift that coveted glitterball? Who knows? But we can’t wait to see them all trying â€" and falling over, with any luck.

*Strictly Come Dancing starts on Friday 27 September at 9pm