Strictly Come Dancing semi-finalist George Clarke has shared his honest first impressions of the BBC ballroom, admitting he was left underwhelmed by the studio
The star admitted the Strictly studio is smaller than it looks on TV(Image: PA)
Strictly Come Dancing semi-finalist George Clarke has lifted the lid on what the famous BBC ballroom really looks like, admitting the studio is considerably smaller and rather different from how it appears on television.
Chatting on The Useless Hotline podcast with co-host Max Balegde, George shared his initial reaction upon seeing the set for the first time.
“It was really interesting because I’ve seen it live before in Blackpool, which is obviously a much bigger place. The studio is quite small,” he said.
Max cheekily responded: “I thought that when I first saw the studio. I was like, ‘Oh, this is s**t’.”
George quickly jumped in to clarify: “Oh, it’s not s**t. It’s just smaller. You’re just like, ‘Oh… this is what it is,’” reports Wales Online.
Having made it through to the semi-finals of the long-running dance show, George revealed how clever production techniques create the illusion of a much larger space on screen.
“The dance floor itself looks so much bigger on TV than it does in real life,” he explained. “It looks like two different rooms to what I’m seeing.”
George Clarke is performing in this year’s edition alongside dancer Alexis Warr(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)
George went on to say that even the contestants rely on monitors dotted around the studio to see how their performances come across to viewers watching at home.
“They have little tiny TVs up in the rafters so you can watch what it would look like on the camera,” Clarke said. “I’d look up there occasionally and be like, ‘It looks like two different rooms.’”
George also commended the judges, highlighting the physical demands of their role that viewers do not typically see.
“It is very interesting how good the judges are at the job,” he said. “From where they’re sat, they physically have to move out of the way and look around at everything. What you don’t see on TV is that they’re actually on the floor doing laps around us. They’re doing so much exercise.”
“Shirley [Ballas] was doing cartwheels,” he quipped. “I was like, ‘Calm down, love.’”
George Clarke is a semi-finalist, competing against Amber Davies, Balvinder Sopal and Karen Carney. (Image: PA)
In another anecdote, George recalled an unexpected moment that was caught on camera. While seated on the sidelines, he suddenly spotted himself during a live segment with host Tess Daly.
“I could see the camera from where I was sitting,” he explained. “I saw myself just slotted in at the end, and you see the moment where I realise I’m on camera and I start mewing down the camera. I didn’t think they’d actually put it in. I thought they might crop me out a little bit.”
George Clarke, who has amassed a significant online following through his comedy and podcasting work, is currently competing in the 23rd series of Strictly Come Dancing with professional partner Alexis Warr.
He is now battling for a coveted spot in the final alongside fellow semi-finalists Amber Davies, Balvinder Sopal and Karen Carney.
