AS WE JOIN THEM AT TOUR REHEARSALS 'STRICTLY PROFESSIONALS TELL WHY THEY ARE ONE BIG FAMILY

There's a buzz of excitement in the air when HELLO! joins the dance stars of Strictly Come Dancing during rehearsals for their The Professionals UK tour

"It's always so much fun when we all come together like this," says Karen Hauer, taking a break for our exclusive chat.

Strictly's longest-reigning professional dancer, who joined the show in 2012, has been reunited with her co-stars - Gorka Márquez, Neil Jones, Dianne Buswell, Jowita Przystal, Nikita Kuzmin, Luba Mushtuk, Vito Coppola, Nancy Xu and Carlos Gu - and tells us: "We're like brothers and sisters." The close-knit cast have been leaning on each other more than ever after the passing of former Strictly head judge Len Goodman at the age of 78 in April, following a diagnosis of bone cancer.

Karen echoes their sentiments when she says: "He was a gentleman on the ballroom and off, and an inspiration to all of us dancers as a judge and as a human being.

"From the moment I met Len, he was warm and caring and he made me feel right at home in Strictly," she adds.

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Karen's love of dancing has spilt over into her personal life - she has been teaching her new husband Jordan Wyn-Jones to dance.

"Bless him, he's a three!" she says, giving Jordan, whom she married in a ceremony covered exclusively by HELLO! last summer, a Strictly score out of ten.

When it comes to the action at today's rehearsals, however, it's tens all round.

As world-class dancers at the top of their game, the talented cast of professionals are determined to make this year's tour the best it can be - and promise that audiences are in for a treat.