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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Tom Bryant

Strictly costume boss reveals secrets of Helen Skelton's 'recycled' gown

Strictly Come Dancing 's costume chief has told how proud she is that the show recycles dresses.

The number Helen Skelton wore for her hair-raising Halloween foxtrot with Gorka Marquez last week was created for Karen Hauer when she performed an American Smooth with Greg Wise last year, in 2021.

But top designer Vicky Gill, who has worked on the show since 2012, has told how it was transformed with the help of red dye.

She said: "It's something that I have been doing for a long time. I hate being wasteful.

"We are not only taking care of budgets, but strive for sustainability and something good for the environment".

Strictly fashion designer Vicky Gill has revealed that the dress worn by Helen Skelton for Halloween week (left) had been upcycled (Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
She said the dress, which had been dyed red, had originally been worn by Karen Hauer (right) (Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)

Vicky says they dyed the dress just days before Saturday night's show. "We didn't know how it was going to take, but I thought 'lets just go for it'," she says.

"In the end it ticked all the boxes, helped us upcycle, and also create a broken feel for the Halloween week as I didn't want it to be a perfect dye. Everyone was a winner."

In the previous series, winner Rose Ayling-Ellis performed an American Smooth with Giovanni Pernice wearing a skirt from the 2019 Xmas special worn previously by Gemma Atkinson.

Vicky's fashion CV includes designing for the likes of Kylie Minogue (pictured) and Girls Aloud (Getty Images)
She said that another recycled gown on Strictly was worn by Rose Ayling-Ellis (left) last year (BBC/Guy Levy)

Vicky said: "I try and be clever where I use them. In Rose's case her dress was in the closing number of a Xmas special so it's not so obvious to the viewer and doesn't break the magic for the celeb coming into the show.

"It's not a case of pulling raggedy old skirts off the rail and going 'there we go, pop that on'. It's not cut and paste."

Vicky, whose fashion CV includes designing for Kylie Minogue and Girls Aloud, says it helps that she has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of dresses used previously.

"My team pull my leg and call me the elephant," she laughs. "I usually have good idea of where things started."

That gown had originally been worn by Gemma Atkinson (left) on the Christmas Special in 2019 (BBC)

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As well as environmental concerns, Vicky said that a key consideration was also money and not being wasteful.

She added: "Costing is at the forefront of what we do. It's not an endless pit of money. We have a healthy budget but its a big show and it runs for 13 weeks.

"It can't be grotesque, we can't be throwing money at pieces. You have to mind the pennies."

But she says such considerations keep her on her toes. "It's really exciting from a creative perspective" she says. "It's like what can we do? We can't just store everything forever and a day, and we are paying for storage as well. It makes you think."

Nothing, it appears, goes to waste, with the clothing enjoying a new lease of life once they appear on screen.

Vicky has worked on Strictly for a decade (BAFTA/REX/Shutterstock)

She says: "We decide at the end of the series what happens. A vast number of dresses go on the main tour, and then the spin off shows.

"The professionals go on their own tours and they will be repurposed. If they are high street garments like shirts, we may give them to charity or to dance schools or organisations that can't afford things.

"From a competitive angle, it can go back into the dance world and then some things are available to hire. It's a moveable feast."

Then there are the multitude of versions of the show aired on TV around the world.

"The show has been sold in something like 56 countries, so they outfits can go and live another life," Vicky says.

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday night (November 5) on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from 7pm. The results show will air the following evening from 7.15pm.

Do you have a story to sell? Get in touch with us at webcelebs@mirror.co.uk or call us direct 0207 29 33033.

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