Strictly Come Dancing stars chase six-figure panto pay cheques throwing show into scheduling chaos
STRICTLY Come Dancing has been thrown into chaos with several of the show’s biggest stars signing six-figure deals to appear in Panto.
Professional dancer AJ Pritchard has landed the lead role in a festive production of Peter Pan – and now his ballroom co-stars are desperate to follow in his footsteps.
The rush to sign up for a lucrative panto stint comes after The Sun reported how the Strictly pro dancers are uniting to fight for a payrise.
A source told The Mirror: “Celebrities are guaranteed that during the week they will be based at home while the pro dancer moves into a hotel nearby.
“But if they sign up to panto, it could really throw a spanner in the works.”
Signing up to a panto production will mean a clash between rehearsals and the final weeks of Strictly, meaning the stars will have less time available to perfect their winning routines.
Judges Craig Revel Horwood and Shirley Ballas have starred in several high-profile panto productions, earning a reported £100,000 for just a three-week stint.
The ballroom experts currently receive £50,000, per series for the flagship BBC1 show, but believe they deserve to pocket a lot more for their work.
It is believed that fee is the same for each pro, regardless of how many years they have been on the show.
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Now the pro dancers have formed a union amongst themselves to call for bigger salaries.
A telly source said: “The professionals have been talking among themselves and are going to come together to ask Strictly bosses for a pay rise.
“They put in incredible hours rehearsing both with their celebrities and also group routines. A lot of them are putting in 10 hour days which is a lot of dancing.
“It has been on the cards for a long time and they haven’t had a payrise in years. They love the show, they just want to feel their money reflects the amount of work they put in and also the celebrity status and profile that comes with it.”
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