Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COUNTDOWN TO STRICTLY COME DANCING 2021: JUST 6 DAYS TO GO
Revealed: Weird and wonderful products stars help flog
STRICTLY’S Katya Jones has been swapping waltzes for walkies and woofed down a massive profit by plugging dog food online.
The professional dancer, who has 178,000 followers on Instagram, is thought to have earned £600 for each post advertising Bakers dog biscuits.
And she’s not the only pro to plug products on social media while the celebrity dance show has been off-air.
BBC bosses gave dancers the green light to become brand ambassadors as long as they don’t mention Strictly, which will be sashaying back onto our screens on Saturday.
And the stars have been quick-stepping their way into a host of lucrative tie-ins for often bizarre products. In her slightly barking dog food snap, Katya pops out of a box of biscuits as a giant Chihuahua looms over her.
Alongside the picture, she wrote: “Chorizo might be a small dog, but trust me his
BIG personality makes me feel tiny.” Katya went on to add: “When I was little, I once tried dog food and it wasn’t too bad actually!”
Fellow dancer Gorka Marquez grins into the camera surrounded by tubs of 10 Cal Jelly. His caption says: “I love these as they are refreshing and keep me going. Always say yes to pudding.”
Gorka has 652,000 followers, which means he could earn
£1,000 a post. And Aljaz Skorjanec – who often posts about his battle with psoriasis – has become the online face of Medovie skincare products.
Other pro promoters include Oti Mabuse, who has hot-footed it into a partnership with shoe maker Skechers, Dianne Buswell, who did an ad for Southern Rail, and Johannes Radebe, who posted about a dentist.
The dancers earn a flat fee of £50,000 for Strictly. They are also allowed to top up their salaries by appearing in stage shows and musicals. A Beeb spokesman said: “The BBC has clear guidelines around on-air talent and promotional activity, including commercial advertising and endorsements.”