Saturday night was all about the sparkle, but today the hard work begins – it’s day one of dance school for Strictly Come Dancing’s class of 2016.
The stars and their partners have retreated to the training room for the next three weeks for some intensive hard work that looks a lot less glamorous than the glittering launch show did.
As they warm up for the weeks ahead, the couples have been tweeting about the start of this year’s rehearsals.
Melvin Odoom was dressed to impress partner Janette Manrara.
Day 1 of @bbcstrictly training with my dancer partner @jmanrara I hope she doesn't think my outfit is too much?💃🏃🏾 pic.twitter.com/zLlvywGrD1
— Melvin Odoom (@Melvinodoom) September 6, 2016
Ore Oduba looked nervous about what Joanne Clifton had in store for him, and with good cause.
I wonder what's she's going to do to me… @joanneclifton 😬😬😬 #nervous #firstday #beasting https://t.co/sohGagkW0T pic.twitter.com/KRyaQefZxg
— Ore Oduba (@OreOduba) September 6, 2016
Im here making sure we've got lots of paper towels for the amount you're gonna SWEAT today @OreOduba pic.twitter.com/cWnhg7EIwm
— joanne k clifton (@joanneclifton) September 6, 2016
Oti Mabuse certainly wasn’t planning on a gentle start with Danny Mac.
#selfietime @dannymaconline and I are ready for day 1 training!!! #RumbaInTheJungle #watchyourself 👊🏽💪🏾 pic.twitter.com/3N2A1Xsftc
— Oti Mabuse (@otlile_mabuse) September 6, 2016
Naga Munchetty has been psyching herself up for training with Pasha Kovalev.
That was the start – now the training begins. Today is my first day at dancing school with @PashaKovalev 💃🏽😳👏🏾 https://t.co/865eeSZaFm
— Naga Munchetty (@BBCNaga) September 6, 2016
Gymanst Claudia Fragapane and partner AJ Pritchard have been taking the athlete’s approach to training.
Good workout today at the gym @cali_fyfe 💪🏼 ready for tomorrow's dance session #strictlycomedancing
— Claudia Fragapane (@claudia_frag) September 5, 2016
Perfect name👌🏼 excited for tomorrow💃🏼😊 https://t.co/cEUQ5pbLo7
— Claudia Fragapane (@claudia_frag) September 5, 2016
Awake & Raring to GO 👈🏻💥 @claudia_frag #PocketRockets
— AJ Pritchard✌ (@Aj11Ace) September 6, 2016
Good breakfast and a nice cup of tea☕️ ready for my first day of dancing @Aj11Ace 💥🚀 #PocketRockets
— Claudia Fragapane (@claudia_frag) September 6, 2016
Anastacia has been trying to keep her nerves in check, and luckily Brendan Cole is playing nice at this point.
Tomorrow is my first rehearsal with @brendancole. Excited👍& nervous👀 Mainly ready to have fun in training🤘
— Anastacia (@AnastaciaMusic) September 5, 2016
#mondaymotivation because everyone needs some Dance in their lives! So just dance like no one is watching!! pic.twitter.com/p3zI4hxnmg
— Anastacia (@AnastaciaMusic) September 5, 2016
Or just dance Like ur on national television in front of millions of people 😁😁
— Anastacia (@AnastaciaMusic) September 5, 2016
Yeah baby…Can't wait! No nerves, excitement is all you need 🤘 https://t.co/uM0RAQNJ0t
— Brendan Cole (@BrendanCole) September 6, 2016
Daisy Lowe showed just how excited she was to get dancing with Aljaz Skorjanec.
Day 1 of strictly rehearsals got me in this mood…. @aljazskorjanec @selectmodelmgmt ❤️🎉🙀💃🏻😻🎈❤️ https://t.co/qOJrPSWLcV
— daisy lowe (@daisylowe) September 6, 2016
Greg Rutherford and Natalie Lowe are looking like firm friends already, and Greg had a few quips to make to hide his nerves.
Not only is she an amazing dancer, she's a wonderful human. Thanks for the practice shoes @RealNatalieLowe 😘 pic.twitter.com/1q1qPRlnXf
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) September 4, 2016
Rehearsals start tomorrow. Watch out @RealNatalieLowe I'm bringing my A game and it's sassy.
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) September 5, 2016
It's the first day of @bbcstrictly training and it's begun with an IAAF drugs test. Clearly they think I'm too good a dancer #cleansport 💪🏻
— Greg Rutherford (@GregJRutherford) September 6, 2016
Laura Whitmore was ready to start work with Giovanni Pernice.
I feel like it's the first day of school!!:) RT @pernicegiovann1: Oh yes !! Let's start !! Day 1 @thewhitmore 💪 @bbcstrictly
— Laura Whitmore (@thewhitmore) September 6, 2016
Kevin Clifton means business about getting Louise Redknapp ready for her first show.
And so it begins. On my way to @LouiseRedknapp for @bbcstrictly training Day 1🤓
— Kevin Clifton (@keviclifton) September 6, 2016
We’re a bit worried for Will Young and Karen Clifton already, given the emojis he tweeted.
😧 🚑 🚑 🚑 🚨 🚨 🚨 @bbcstrictly #strictly https://t.co/2FVO25vVKz
— Will Young (@willyoung) September 6, 2016
It’s all quiet with Lesley Joseph and Anton Du Beke – could they be flying under the radar to bust out the best routine ever come the first week of competition? Tameka Empson was keeping a low profile with Gorka Marquez, too.
No word from Ed Balls yet either, but we hope he’s not nursing a hangover after Katya Jones’ post from last night.
Absolutely having a blast at @TVChoice award this evening with @edballs #scd #strictly #strictlycomedancing pic.twitter.com/0WtpvsHeBq
— katya Jones (@Mrs_katjones) September 5, 2016
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here