STRICTLY’S professional dancers are joining forces to fight for a pay rise.
The ballroom stars are going to bosses after lucrative tours were axed due to coronavirus.
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They currently each receive around £50,000 per series — regardless of how many years they have been on the BBC1 show.
So they rely on the Strictly Come Dancing The Professional tour and solo ones to top up their income.
Show judges Shirley Ballas, 59, Craig Revel Horwood, 55, Bruno Tonioli, 64, and 39-year-old Motsi Mabuse each pocket between £150,000 and £250,000.
On Thursday The Sun reported that with much of the 2020 schedule in tatters, bosses are prepared to double the fees for celebrities to ensure a top-class line-up.
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A source said: “The pros feel they are struggling now that the tours have all had to be cancelled. They feel they deserve more considering how much work they put in for six months of the year, and often the days can be really long and arduous.
“The BBC keeps control of other business deals they do outside of the show and they are limited to the job offers than can accept.
“The dancers hope that if they join together and put a case forward, the producers will appreciate their worth.
“Many are stars in their own right now, with big fan followings.”
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The pro line-up was thrown into chaos last month when AJ Pritchard, 25, quit unexpectedly weeks after Kevin Clifton, 37, announced he was leaving.
Speaking after the shock announcement, AJ said: “Some days I would work 18-hour days because I was dancing and choreographing.
“I didn’t have a life. There’s a lot of strain, both physically and mentally.”
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