Daniel Gumble visits BBC Studioworks' facilities at Elstree Studios for a look behind the scenes at a TV phenomenon
Contributor 11 mins ago
Daniel Gumble visits BBC Studioworks' facilities at Elstree Studios for a look behind the scenes at a TV phenomenon
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin> Daniel Gumble visits BBC Studioworks' facilities at Elstree Studios for a look behind the scenes at a TV phenomenon
https://www.tvbeurope.com/features/the-sound-of-strictly title=Share via Email class=share-email>
Setting foot on to the set of Strictly Come Dancing is like stepping into a rainbow. Dozens of multi-coloured spotlights swirl and fizz in every direction, while LED displays and video screens bathe the room in a bubbling froth of luminescent pinks, purples, greens, blues and oranges. As we arrive to check out the rehearsals we find a beaming Anton Du Beke laughing and mopping his brow as he departs the dance floor following a run-through of his routine, soundtracked by a loud, brassy circus tune that's being prepped for the next couple. It all stands in stark contrast to the oppressive, slate grey drizzle lurching over Borehamwood's Elstree Studios on the day of our visit. It's a Friday, which means we are 24 hours away from the live Saturday night broadcast. BBC Studioworks, the studio and post production provider for Strictly, has kindly invited us into the fray for a look behind the scenes and a chat with some of the key members of the sound department, including Andy Tapley, sound supervisor, BBC Studioworks, who has worked on the show for the best part of a decade.
He takes us on a comprehensive tour of the studio where we see and hear first hand precisely what goes into the making of an episode of Strictly. The collective effort of the production team is phenomenal, as they create an audiovisual spectacular that dazzles and sparkles like the contestants' outfits, working to a schedule almost as tight.
We divvy up the mixing because it's such a big show, says Tapley, referring to his broadcast mix partner and co-sound supervisor Richard Sillitto, as TVBEurope sits down with the pair in a bustling mixing room. We have lots of circuits coming from the studio floor it's a busy show and it takes two of us to mix it. We use a system that has developed over the years as the production requirements have become bigger and bigger with each series. If you were to look back at the early days of the show you'd see it looks very different. It's evolved a lot. It certainly has. Now in its 17th series, Strictly has fought off stiff competition from numerous Saturday night prime time contenders to remain one of the most popular fixtures on the TV calendar. With each series the stakes are raised, and as the visual elements of the show are elevated, so too are the challenges placed on its sound team.
We work closely with the visuals, says Tapley. It's become more demanding in terms of the content we're covering. From a music perspective, it's very challenging. The music is incredibly diverse and has got more and more varied over the years.
Sillitto elaborates: There has been an ambition to incorporate more modern-produced tracks. It's moved away from the band just doing a cover to much more often trying to recreate the track and getting it as close to the original as possible, albeit with a pit band.
The calibre of the musicians is a huge part of that, Tapley continues. Headed by Dave Arch, the 18 session musicians seamlessly switch between orchestral scores to produced pop. They are an amazing team, as are the sound team members working in the background; organising the radio mics, band, monitors and PA. It's the professionalism of this team, and all teams on the show that make it possible.''
To help us understand what a weekly cycle of Strictly from one Saturday to the next looks like, Sillitto provides a breakdown of his and Tapley's schedule.
Principally it starts for us on a Thursday when we have a planning meeting, where we'll discuss what's happening the following week, he explains. That'll incorporate sound, lighting, props, everyone. Then Friday is spent with Howard Hopkins, deputy sound supervisor playing in commercial tracks, cameras can rehearse and it's a good time for me and Andy to have a listen to the tracks. Later this evening, all the cameras will go home and the rhythm section of the band will arrive, and we'll run through all the tracks, building up snapshots and then we'll come in on Saturday, have 15 minutes with the band to add the front line and start rehearsing with the couples. So then the couples will dance for the cameras with the live band, which gives us another two hits with them. Later on in the day we'll do a dress rehearsal, then it's live to air. Then we forget all about that and start again!
Presumably, as the show rolls on and couples are eliminated, the process becomes easier. Not so says Tapley. You'd believe that was the case, but you have to factor in that every week there might be another group dance or some special event, like Halloween, he tells us. In theory, it should get easier but it never actually does because there are always additional challenges. And in a couple of weeks we're off to Blackpool. We pack up everything and rebuild it in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom. It's a big show to take on the road. Then it's back here, where we rebuild everything again and then it's the Christmas show. It's a juggernaut production that starts at the end of August and goes through to Christmas and it's only then that you take a breath.
Most of the people who work on the show across all departments have been with it for many years, so it's built quite a nice famil
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...
07/04/2026
Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...
07/04/2026
April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...
07/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...
07/04/2026
Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...
07/04/2026
Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867):
Cuez ...
07/04/2026
CueScript to Showcase Innovations at NAB that Add Mobility Options, Ease Editing...
07/04/2026
Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder
Brie Clayton April 7, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...
07/04/2026
Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...
07/04/2026
Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...
07/04/2026
Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/04/2026
Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...
07/04/2026
Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores The orchestra, led by associate professor Xander Rovang, will perform several work...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
Daniel Gumble visits BBC Studioworks' facilities at Elstree Studios for a look behind the scenes at a TV phenomenon
