Strictly Come Dancing is back and better than ever, and for the amount they're paying the judges, hosts, professional dancers and the celebs, we should hope so. We know, we know, it's not very British to talk about how much people are being paid, but there seems to be a loophole when talking about it online, so indulge us...
To be fair, the show is arguably the biggest show on UK television and, as such, is a MAJOR undertaking. You can bet your bottom dollar it takes a LOT of hard work.
With the 2024 series officially in full swing, we thought we'd take a deep dive into the salaries of some of the professional dancers, judges and hosts Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman, and look at how much they allegedly earn when they're not slaying their Strictly roles.
CHECK OUT: Strictly stars' rumoured salaries – judges, professionals and hosts
1 of 11Gorka Marquez: rumoured salary £105,000
One of the lowest salaries in the line-up but certainly not one to be sniffed at – on top of Gorka Marquez's £50k Strictly salary (the alleged standard salary for Strictly pros), he brings home an extra £35k for the Strictly Professionals live tour. He took home an additional £20k for his one-off show, Here Come the Boys, with fellow dancer Aljaz Skorjanec back in 2019.
2 of 11Anton Du Beke: rumoured salary £200,000
After spending a whopping 16 years as a professional dancer on the show, Anton Du Beke replaced Bruno Tonlioni as a permanent judge in 2021 after winning over fans when he replaced Motsi Mabuse for two weeks in 2020 when she was isolating. He's also doing a Christmas tour this year, which we're fairly certain will earn him a pretty penny.
3 of 11Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara: rumoured salary £290,000 combined
When both of the married couple Aljaž and Janette Manrara were Strictly pros, they had an estimated household income of nearly £300k, thanks to their combined Strictly salaries and the live tour. However, since Janette left to co-host the spin-off show It Takes Two, it's tougher to track. Aljaž left the show in 2022, but has since returned, which means he gets the alleged standard salary of £50k. The couple have also raked in some extra cash from various P&O Ferry cruises.
4 of 11Motsi Mabuse: rumoured salary £325,000
Judge Motsi was offered a starting salary of £200,000 per season when she joined the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel in 2019. The German dance school she runs with husband Evgenij Voznyuk and her contract with German Weight Watchers brings home some extra bacon. No wonder she's always smiling!
5 of 11Neil and Katya Jones: rumoured salary£334,000 combined
They may no longer be married, but in previous years Neil Jones and Katya Jones have raked in a combined amount of apparently over £340k. On top of their £100k joint salary, ticket sales from their stage show Somnium back in 2019, as well as P&O Cruise and Alton Towers contracts, raked in plenty more cash for the former lovers. Good news for Neil, as his daughter he shares with his Love Island partner, Chyna Mills is just about to turn two.
6 of 11Oti Mabuse: rumoured salary £410,000
Although she's since left the show, it's thought fan fave Oti Mabuse earned just over £400k with her Strictly salary and The Professionals tour money in 2021. Since then, she has been a panellist on The Masked Dancer and became a judge on Dancing on Ice in 2022. So, yeah - from cha-cha to cha-ching.
7 of 11Shirley Ballas: rumoured £500,000
Head judge Shirley Ballas began on a meagre reported £180k – but negotiated a pay rise, bringing her Strictly salary up to a whopping quarter of a million quid per series. She's also earning a pretty penny from appearing in pantos every year, as well as teaching at a dance school in Streatham, South London.
8 of 11Tess Daly: rumored salary £570,000
Tess is thought to earn £150k for her presenting role on Strictly Come Dancing (although some reports claim it could be between £350k and £399,999 a year), but a number of other work commitments hike her yearly income up to well over half a million quid. She also presents Children in Need and was a brand ambassador for global mega brands L'Oreal and Pandora. So yeah, Christmas drinks on Tess.
9 of 11Craig Revel Horwood: rumoured salary£655,000
He might be the "lowest paid" judge on the panel, but residents Mr Nasty Craig Revel Horwood certainly makes up for his "lacking" salary with his various other sources of income. For one, he is the main choreographer for the Strictly Live Tour, thought to earn him around £200k a year, as well as his work in panto and renting out property.
10 of 11Claudia Winkleman: rumoured salary £829,000
Claudia is apparently the highest paid woman on the BBC's books, so it's no wonder her yearly income is nearly £1m. On top of her £150k Strictly salary – the same as co-host Tess' – she also earns a pretty penny for her radio shows and various other BBC commitments. Other major sources of income are her big bucks beauty partnerships, including Head & Shoulders and No7 at Boots.
11 of 11Bruno Tonioli: rumoured salary £1,850,000
Top of the leaderboard (in the salary stakes) is Italian Stallion Bruno Tonioli, who was the highest paid judge during his time on the show, with a Strictly salary said to be £250k. It's rumoured he still received his pay cheque in 2020, despite not actually judging on the show due to coronavirus quarantining rules. He's now a judge on the American version of the show, Dancing with the Stars, where he reportedly earns an eye-watering £1.5m.
No wonder everyone keeps blooming dancing year after year; we would if we earned those mega bucks. Actually, no, we'd pay someone to do the dancing for us...
The professional dancers and judges don't hang up their dancing shoes when the show is over - most of them have tours and do pantos, earning them some extra cash in the bank.