Strictly Come Dancing in chaos as judges ‘demand’ pay rise - including Shirley Ballas & Craig Revel Horwood

The future ofStrictly Come Dancing悬而未决的法官有通讯报吗dly demanded a pay rise fromBBCbosses. It is said thatShirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse andAnton Du Bekeare seeking an 11% hike ahead of the new season.

Reports have also emerged that Strictly’s professionaldancershave allegedly slammed the foursome, taking to WhatsApp in the wake of the news and are considering asking for a pay rise themselves.

Head judge Shirley Ballas is reportedly earning £500,000, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse are takinghome£200,000, and Anton Du Beke is believed to rake in £180,000. In comparison, dancers like Giovanni Pernice are paid a flat fee of around £35,000, not accounting for the hours of training needed.

According to sources close to the BBC, it is understood that bosses are enraged by the judge’s demand for increased salary.

An insider toldThe Sun: “The pros are seething. They work their a***s off for three months of the year, while the judges swan in on a Saturday, watch some nice dancing and air their thoughts. A few of the dancers mooted the idea of staging their own protest, but they are well aware there’s a cost of living crisis and they all love and are appreciative of their jobs.”

A BBC spokesperson issued The Daily Mail with the following statement: “While there is always some negotiation that goes on when new contracts are signed each year, this is something else. Their jobs are some of the very best on television and they are already very well remunerated for their work so when these negotiations began this time around, there was shock and anger.

“It is also not like they spend any other time working behind the scenes like the professional dancers. They turn up, get their makeup done and go in front of the camera.

It continues: “The professional dancers work tirelessly for weeks on end and they work themselves to the bone for the smidgen of what the judges already earn, let alone what they want to earn. You would think that they would be aware that they work for the BBC and that they are essentially paid for by the British public through the licence fee.”

We have approached the BBC to provide further comment on the matter and are awaiting a response.