Behind the SCREAMS!

Strictly's fab-boo-lous costume designer VICKY GILL on getting into the spirit of things for the show's spooktacular edition 

- EMMA BULLIMORE

STRICTLY COME DANCING

SAT, 6.40PM, & SUN, 7.20PM, BBC1 ENTERTAINMENT

The annual Halloween special of BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing has crept up on costume designer Vicky Gill this year.

‘The audience always looks forward to this episode and we do, too – but it’s a real challenge,’ she says during an exclusive interview with TV Times.

‘It feels really strange this time round because the weather has been so warm – usually it’s autumnal and you feel yourself rolling towards Halloween, but we’re all a bit discombobulated by the mild weather!

‘You don’t have a chance to think about it properly until the week of the show, but when you go into the supermarket and see all of the merchandise, you think, “My goodness, yes, it’s coming!”’

It’s a strange time in the sewing room for Vicky and her dedicated team, as Halloween demands less sparkle and more grime!

‘There is more craft involved because we will be dyeing fabrics, breaking them down or even creating a fabric from scratch; there are no real restrictions and everybody gets involved painting shoes or dirtying down dresses,’ she reveals. ‘We end up mixing a kind of murky dye soup for Halloween that everything goes in… and then we have to throw in the odd sequin as well, otherwise it wouldn’t be right!’