Dancing all the way to the bank!
Forget the celebrities, the real Strictly winners are the judges..
By Nicole Lampert
Last updated at 11:22 PM on 7th December 2011
Strictly Come Dancing has trounced The X Factor in the weekend TV ratings war. Without Simon Cowell, viewing figures for ITV’s singing contest have fallen by three million since last year.
But it’s not just BBC producers who are delighted with Strictly’s success. The show’s judges — once relative unknowns — also have much to celebrate. Len Goodman recently admitted he makes ‘pots of money’ from his weekly trek to Los Angeles — where he’s head judge on Dancing With The Stars — and back to London to perform the same role on Strictly.
Here, NICOLE LAMPERT tots up the judges’ wealth...
Tango and cash: The Strictly judges, from left, Craig Revel Horwood, Alesha Dixon, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman, have made a fortune from the show
LEN GOODMAN
LIFE BEFORE STRICTLY: A former welder and talented footballer from London’s East End, Len, 67, started ballroom dancing after a doctor suggested it could help with a football injury. He turned professional and won the British ballroom championship with his then wife (he is currently on his third). He later set up several dance schools in Dartford, Kent.
He almost turned down the job on Strictly because he thought it would mock dance. Instead, dance schools like his have never been busier.
Champion: Len in his heyday with partner Cherry Kingston
STRICTLY SALARY: All the judges started on just £17,000 — the same as the professional dancers — when the programme began in 2004. But as the show grew in popularity, the judges fought for more money. Len, as head judge, earns £90,000. There has not been such a steep rise in fortunes for the dancers; several cullings have shown them no job is safe, and they get only £30,000 each.
Len makes his money through the U.S. version of the show (it runs from March to May and September to November), for which he is paid £250,000. He is also a regular on the month-long Strictly Live Tour, earning £40,000.
Then there are the hotel group Warners’ Strictly Come Dancing Breaks, where you can meet your favourite judge and several dancers, and learn ballroom dancing. For those, Len is paid £20,000.
Earlier this year he admitted he was ‘overpaid’, adding: ‘I get potloads of money. Too much, isn’t it?’
STRICTLY BUSINESS: He has a DVD called Dance With Len Goodman (RRP £12.89) and an autobiography, Better Late Than Never: From Barrowboy To Ballroom (RRP £7.99), both of which still sell well. His celebrity status gives his dance schools a high profile. He has only one company registered at Companies House — the Goodman Maxell Partnership — but it has never traded and is being struck off at its own request.
STRICTLY OUTSIDE WORK: He lives mortgage-free in the same modest house he bought in 1996. He is married to Sue, who is 20 years his junior, and has a grown-up son from his second marriage.
Despite his earnings, he does not appear to have many celebrity trappings. He even refuses the BBC’s offer of a car, preferring to get to the studio by bus. ‘Sitting there like Little Lord Fauntleroy. It’s not my cup of tea,’ he said.
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EARNINGS: £400,000.
CRAIG REVEL HORWOOD
LIFE BEFORE STRICTLY: Born in Melbourne, Australia, bisexual Craig’s first career was as a drag artist in seedy nightclubs. He became a rent boy, charging £100 an hour for his services, before trying his luck as a dancer in London.
Working up the ranks in the West End, he became a well-regarded stage choreographer with shows including West Side Story and My One And Only. He choreographed the opening of the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.
Panto villain: This Christmas, Craig, left, will star in Snow White And The Seven Dwarves in Dartford with Ann Widdecome
STRICTLY SALARY: Craig, 46, earns £90,000 as a judge for Strictly. He was also a judge on the New Zealand version of the show with dancer Brendan Cole, but the spin-off ended in 2009; he earned around £60,000 for that.
He is a regular on the Strictly Live tour, and is choreographing the next one, netting him an extra £60,000. Like Len he appears on the Warners’ Strictly breaks for an extra £20,000.
Unlike Goodman, he often moans about his salary: ‘Len says we’re overpaid on Strictly, but I can assure him I’m not. He’s only saying that because of his U.S. wage.’
STRICTLY BUSINESS: Craig does not do too badly outside of the day job. A big earner is panto, which he has been doing for the past three years.
This Christmas he will perform as the evil queen in Snow White in Kent, alongside his former Strictly nemesis, former Tory minister Ann Widdecombe. He can expect to earn around £30,000 for just over a month’s work.
He has also written two ballroom dancing books — Teach Yourself Ballroom Dancing (RRP £5.99) and Learn Ballroom Dancing (RRP £10.99) — and has an autobiography called All Balls and Glitter: My Life (RRP £5.99).
Friends in high places: The judge has a laugh with the Duchess of Cornwall when she visited the show
Craig enjoys being a regular on celebrity shows such as Celebrity Masterchef, Daily Cooks and Would I Lie To You?, bringing in an extra £15,000. You can hire him as a master of ceremonies, and he was the face of British Sausage Week last year, travelling the country to find its tastiest sausage.
He has one directorship, for a production company called Acid Clutch Productions. Earlier this year it reported a profit of £46,674.
He continues to work on stage shows and recently choreographed a new production of Chess.
STRICTLY OUTSIDE WORK: He lives in a £700,000 house in Camden, North London, with partner Grant, a 30-year-old pharmacist.
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EARNINGS: £215,000.
ALESHA DIXON
LIFE BEFORE STRICTLY: Part of short-lived band Mis-Teeq, Alesha, 33, had been dropped by her record label after disastrous solo sales when she agreed to be a celebrity contestant on the 2006 series of Strictly.
Girl power: Alesha, left, started out in showbiz as a member of girl band Mis-Teeq
Her talent shone through from the start — in terms of points, she remains the best ever contestant. By the time she had won, record labels were clamouring to sign her, and her next album, The Alesha Show, went platinum.
In 2009, amid huge controversy, Alesha replaced well-respected choreographer Arlene Phillips as a judge on Strictly.
STRICTLY SALARY: Thanks to rumoured interest from other shows, such as The X Factor, Alesha is the highest paid judge, on £100,000, despite being the least experienced. Outside of appearing on the show, she prefers to concentrate on her music career.
STRICTLY BUSINESS: After the success of The Alesha Show, her 2010 album was a disappointment. The Entertainer only got to No 86 in the charts, and she was dropped by her record label. She remains a sought-after commodity in the branding world, however, and has become a millionaire through it.
Ten out of ten: The singer won the show in 2006 with dance partner Matt Cutler to gain her credentials as a judge
Her biggest deal was a four-year contract with LA Fitness in 2009, which could end up netting her £3 million. She has also been the face of Ford, hair removal cream Veet, Toblerone, Clintons cards and, most recently, Avon cosmetics.
She has hosted several TV programmes, including a documentary on the domestic abuse she witnessed as a child.
She has two companies: Preciousstone Touring and Preciousstone Productions, which disclosed a combined annual profit of £160,000 earlier this year.
STRICTLY OUTSIDE WORK: Mostly single since divorcing rapper husband MC Harvey for cheating on her, she lives in a modest house which she bought mortgage-free in July 2009 for £316,995.
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EARNINGS: £600,000.
BRUNO TONIOLI
LIFE BEFORE STRICTLY: Italian Tonioli, 55, who left his small home town because he was bullied for being gay, made his name as a dancer and choreographer of pop videos including working for Duran Duran, Bananarama and Tina Turner. He went on to choreograph films including Ella Enchanted, Little Voice and The Gathering Storm.
STRICTLY SALARY: He gets £90,000 for the UK Strictly and, like Len, he jets back and forth across the Atlantic to be a judge on Dancing With The Stars which earns him £250,000.
He's got the moves: Bruno made his name as a choreographer
Four years ago he co-created and appeared in the show DanceX, where two teams of dancers were pitted against each other. He repeated the show in the U.S. the following year.
Like Len, he is a regular on the Strictly Live Tour, earning an extra £40,000. He also takes part in the Warners’ Strictly breaks.
STRICTLY BUSINESS: A favourite on the speaking circuit, he will talk at your event for around £8,000 a pop. Last year’s accounts for his company, Bruno Tonioli Limited, disclosed an income of £410,000.
STRICTLY OUTSIDE WORK: He lives mortgage-free in a £1 million garden flat in fashionable Maida Vale, North London, which he bought in 1991. He is single after splitting from his boyfriend of 20 years.
ESTIMATED ANNUAL EARNINGS: £410,000.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2071349/Strictly-Come-Dancing-way-bank-The-real-winners-judges.html#ixzz1fveKbXvb
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