Strictly Come Dancing 2024 is bringing the show's yearly fright-fest back to the dance floor with the remaining celebrities and their professional partners all hoping to impress the fancy-dressed judges with routines that are more treat than trick!
Expect vampires, zombies, witches and skeletons, plus a fab-boo-lously hair-raising group number based on the classic fantasy horror movie Beetlejuice!
Here, the Strictly gang reveals more about Halloween Week…
Chris & Dianne
Are you fans of Halloween?
Chris: "Yeah, I love trick-or-treating with my daughter. I’m not easily scared, although spiders freak me out! Strictly is honestly the scariest thing I’ve ever experienced!"
Dianne: "Actually spiders don’t bother me. But I’m absolutely terrified of heights. Rollercoasters definitely aren’t my thing!"
Which judge would you most like to take trick or treating?
Chris: "Craig! I’d cast him loose in the scariest house and leave him to be eaten by ghouls. Seriously, as much as me and Craig have this banter, he’d be well up for the theatrics of trick-or-treating!"
Tasha & Aljaz
What can you tease about your Halloween dance?
Aljaz: "All I can tell you is that I need to make it way scarier! Because I don’t like being scared my approach is always to start off happy and then make the routine more terrifying as I go along! But wait until you see this year’s group number. Oh my goodness, it feels like a film scene!"
Which judge are you most scared of?
Tasha: "For me, it’s Shirley, just because I want to impress her the most! They’re all quite scary though, and this week they’re going to have spooky costumes on and look even scarier!"
Sarah & Vito
What can you tease us about your routine this week?
Sarah: "For our Halloween dance I want to go all out with the costume, wig, makeup and prosthetics. I keep telling Vito I want to wear coloured contact lenses!"
Is there someone on Strictly you’d love to jump scare?
Vito: "Anton, just to see the funny expression on his face! But actually Sarah is the best person to scare…"
Sarah: "I’m actually quite jumpy. I can’t even cope with films like Jaws. Sometimes when I’m in a swimming pool I still think, could he get in through a pipe?"
Punam & Gorka
Do you both scare easily?
Punam: "I’m not good with horror films. For hours afterwards I think someone’s tiptoeing around my house!"
Gorka: "When I was 15 or 16 we went to watch The Ring. I wanted to play it cool with my schoolmates but I was literally screaming!"
Which pro dancer would cope best in a haunted house?
Punam: "Vito. He’d be properly hyper and just scream the place down!"
Gorka: "If I had to spend the night in a haunted house I’d take Karen. We’d have a bit of banter and make fun of the situation even if we were terrified!"
Sam & Nikita
Is Halloween a big thing for you?
Sam: "Yes! My kids have already planned their outfits. Molly loves witches, and Zac wants to be Spiderman – he’s obsessed! We’ll probably go trick or treating, too."
Nikita: "I’ve never been trick or treating. I wouldn’t know what to do if someone said ‘trick.’ Maybe do a backflip! But I love Halloween on Strictly. The fun thing is that you can either become an evil character or dress up like a hot dog!"
Is there anything you’re scared of in real life?
Nikita: "Ants! They’re just so small they can crawl in anywhere. And I mean anywhere!"
Wynne & Katya
What do you most love about Halloween?
Wynne: "Putting up signs outside the house saying, ‘enter at your own peril’. But as soon as Halloween’s over I like to start on the mince pies!"
Which Strictly celeb would you most like to prank for Halloween?
Wynne: "Jamie Borthwick! He pranks me all the time, so I need to get him back. He loves beige food and can’t have sauce in his burgers, so I’m planning to ruin that!"
Katya: "Honestly, those two are like a pair of five-year-old kids! But I love Halloween Week on Strictly – it allows you to go rogue!"
JB & Amy
What can hint about your Halloween routine?
JB: "Normally anything scary isn’t my cup of tea but I’m hoping we’ll perform something memorable that my kids can watch! Part of the fun of Halloween is putting on a great outfit and having a bit of escapism!"
If you had to spend a night in a haunted house with another Strictly star who would it be?
JB: "Probably Vito because he’d have way too much energy for any of the ghosts."
Amy: "I’d pick Dianne, my bestie. She’d keep me entertained and I wouldn’t be scared because I’d be laughing my head off at her!"
Jamie & Michelle
Do you celebrate Halloween?
Jamie: "Not really, I prefer Christmas. I’m like the Halloween equivalent of someone who’s a bit bah humbug!"
Michelle: "I love Halloween! I love all the scary movies and those fun horror mazes you get at theme parks. I think Jamie’s just scared!"
Jamie, is there a fellow celeb you’d like to go trick or treating with?
Jamie: "All the boys on the show are into the banter and we kind of like winding each other up. But Wynne would be top of my list. Often if I’m not doing much I’m like, ‘I’m a bit bored, where’s Wynne?’"
Pete & Jowita
Are you good at coping with spooky things?
Jowita: "No, I’m scared of snakes, alligators and even water. But spiders petrify me, even the tiniest ones!"
Pete: "I don’t really have any fears. One of my favourite things is even taking the dogs for a walk in the woods at night. I’ve also got a tattoo of Casper the friendly ghost on my hip. Although it looks more like a chubby cross-eyed baby!"
Which judge would you most like to take on a ghost train?
Pete: "For comedic purposes it would have to be Anton. He’d be so hilarious I’m actually going to have to organise it now!"
Shayne & Nancy
Are you looking forward to Halloween?
Shayne: "Yes! It was my birthday earlier this month – me and my twin sister Emma turned 40. So I always love this time of year. I’m one of seven kids and we used to watch horror films like A Nightmare on Elm Street and The Exorcist. Now I like to take my kids trick or treating. My daughter, Willow, loves daddy dressing as a vampire!"
What’s Halloween Week like at Strictly?
Nancy: "I always feel like there’s something spooky going on in Elstree Studios in Halloween Week. My phone was playing music out of nowhere the other day!"
Montell & Johannes
What do you most love about Halloween Week?
Johannes: "Dressing up! But the routine always starts with the right song, so as soon as Strictly finishes in December I start updating my playlist for next year’s Halloween!"
Which Strictly pro would you most like to take on a ghost train?
Johannes: "Definitely not Nancy or Amy, they’d just be hugging each other out of fear. I’d take the big guns like Kai and Vito for a bit of protection!"
Montell: "Although I have to say I’m actually toughening Johannes up a bit. I’m roughening up his shiny side. He’s almost unrecognisable now!"
Strictly Come Dancing 2024 returns with Halloween Week on Saturday, October 26 at 6.25 pm - watch on BBC1 and BBC iPlayer.
