‘Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular’ Cancelled Following Poor Ticket Sales And Backlash Over ‘Rip Off’ Prices

The much hyped ‘Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular’ has been cancelled because of poor ticket sales.

The BBC event was announced with much fanfare earlier this month, but many fans refused to cough up £70 for a ticket and blasted the event for the “rip off” additional costs involved.

A statement posted on the official website confirmed it would no longer be going ahead because of a lack of demand.

It read: “It is with regret that Strictly Come Dancing: The Spectacular has been cancelled.

“Demand for this event has not been as strong as we had hoped so we’ve taken the difficult decision to cancel it.

“All customers will receive a full refund for the cost of their tickets.We are sorry for any disappointment caused as a result of this decision.”

Billed as ‘your day out with the stars’, fans were promised they would get ‘closer than ever before to Strictly’s glitz and glamour’, with the chance to ‘join the judges, hosts, celebrities and pro dancers for a day of excitement and entertainment.’

But all of that would come at an additional price with fans expected to fork out on top of the price of admission to have a photo taken with the stars - or even to simply sit at the ‘Strictly’ judging desk.

Fans who wanted to have a photo taken with one of the judges - Darcey Bussell, Bruno Tonioli or Craig Revel Horwood - were expected to cough up £26.80 per person.

The same fee applies to a picture with hosts Tess Daly or Zoe Ball.

Fans who had already paid £70 for a ticket to the event were not happy with the additional costs.

“It’s very steep – and has taken the gloss off the excitement of going,” one fan told The Sun.

“It’s already incredibly expensive to take a family, it’s nearly £200 just to walk through the door and go to the talks, so to find that you have to pay extra to get a photograph feels like a bit of a kick in the teeth.

“By the end of the day it would cost hundreds and hundreds of pounds to get a photograph with everyone there – and that’s before you’ve travelled or eaten.

“It’s practically the cost of a family holiday for one afternoon out.”

Even a photograph sat at the empty judges desk would have cost punters £12.

A BBC spokesperson insisted the photographs offered to fans were excellent value and definitely not selfies.

They told HuffPost UK: “The Spectacular offers the chance for the public to get up close and personal to the stars like never before, including the choice to have a professionally taken photograph and receive a high quality, glossy print to take away with them.”