It’s not long until this year’s celebrities hit the Strictly dance floor later this month.
And on Tuesday they were seen leaving their hotel for their first show recording at Elstree Studios as they were snapped in their training attire.
Emmerdale star Lewis Cope showcased his impressive muscular physique in a white Nike sports vest and black sports shorts as he smiled on his way to the studio.
The actor was drafted in as a last minute replacement for Kristian Nair after he was forced to quit the show.
Elsewhere Doctor Who star Alex Kingston looked to bonding with rugby player Chris Robshaw as the friends walked with their arms around each other while waving to fans.
The actress opted for a black T-shirt and gym leggings and gave her feet a rest from her dancing shoes in a pair of open toe sandals.
Strictly star Lewis Cope showed off his muscular physique as this years celebs headed to training at Elstree Studios for the first time on Tuesday
He was joined by a smiling Alex Kingston and Chris Robshaw who stepped out with their arms around one another
Soap star Balvinder Sopal appeared in great spirits as she kept it casual in a white hoody and black gym leggings.
While Karen Carney wore a black Nike quarter zip as she carried her sports bag over her shoulder.
It comes after controversial Strictly signing Thomas Skinner dramatically stormed out of the dance competition’s first press event on Tuesday.
Insiders told Daily Mail that the Apprentice star, 34, only took part in two interviews before exiting the event held at Elstree Studios, leaving organisers furious and BBC bosses in crisis talks over whether he should remain on the show.
Thomas was sitting next to former Chelsea star and fellow Strictly contestant Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink when he told the table of journalists: ‘I’m not doing this’, and fled from the event.
He had taken exception to being taped by reporters – which is standard for the event.
A female journalist asked him what had prompted him to take part in Strictly and it was at that point that Thomas saw that he was being recorded on her phone and bellowed: ‘What’s that?’
He then picked up the journalist’s phone and took it from the table, prompting the woman to furiously ask him: ‘What are you doing, can you answer the question, we have only got three minutes. I’m just recording him.’
The duo waved to fans as they stepped out in the sunshine
Soap star Balvinder Sopal appeared in great spirits as she kept it casual in a white hoody and black gym leggings
Karen Carney wore a black Nike quarter zip as she carried her sports bag over her shoulder
The actress opted for a black T-shirt and gym leggings and gave her feet a rest from her dancing shoes in a pair of open toe sandals
Chris appeared in great spirits as he waved to fans in his shades
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink was on the phone as he left the studio
He wore a white graphic T-shirt and black bomber jacket
After a slight tussle in which the female journalist managed to retrieve her phone, Thomas walked out – with BBC escorts then temporarily taking Jimmy away from the table – while desperately trying to locate Thomas’ whereabouts.
A source said: ‘This is exactly what Strictly did not need. With all the recent controversy, bosses wanted this series to be smooth sailing but Thomas is already causing havoc.
‘It’s unprecedented for a celebrity to walk out of the show’s media launch day and bosses think it’s really bad form.’
‘If this is a sign of things to come, Strictly have a big problem.’
The Daily Mail can reveal bosses are now having crisis meetings about whether father-of-three Thomas should stay on the show.
Strictly fans have been bombarding the Beeb with complaints – and vowed to boycott the show – after Thomas met with Donald Trump’s vice-president and called him a ‘proper gent’.
Controversial Strictly signing Thomas Skinner dramatically stormed out of the dance competition’s first press event on Tuesday (pictured in 2022)
However, just moments before Thomas’ meltdown, BBC director-general Tim Davie defended the decision to cast the former Apprentice star, while speaking to MPs from the Culture, Media and Sport committee.
He said: ‘That was not my decision, that was the production team looking for those people… who want to do Strictly, and those people they thought would be interesting to the audience.
‘Clearly, we wouldn’t take anyone whose views are just beyond the pale, or we would see as completely unacceptable or not suitable, racist views, all those things, we wouldn’t accept them.
‘But that’s not the case here, from what I know, I’m not an expert on the individual, per se.’
