depends where you are coming from but you honestly cant miss it - there will be LOTS of BBC staff in hi-vis jackets directing you

have a wonderful time!

no sorry, I have applied for every week (just like I have for the live show) and havent heard a thing!

not heard of anyone getting tickets either!

I attended Strictly last Saturday (Oct 17th 2015) and I thought I'd share my experience and tips to help future attendees.

My partner and I stayed at the Travelodge on Studio Way for the weekend which was great, has everything you need, was comfortable, good value and an 8 min walk from the queue start point - do not bother eating in the Toby Carvery next door though, it was horrible. I would advise staying nearby if you want to start queuing early.

I had decided originally to start queuing at 5am after reading other peoples experiences on the forum. But then I got talking to a lady on twitter who had been two weeks ago and she started queuing at 3.30am and there were two others infront of her who had started at 2.30am. She told me the first 24 people get seated directly opposite the band with stairs to Claudia on your left. Wanting to make sure I was part of this first 24 I changed my queue start time to 4am - that was my limit.

Saturday morning rolled around so my partner and I set off walking to the start point and got there at 3.50am to find no one there! I started to panic thinking we were in the wrong place as this was too good to be true that we were first in line?! why was no one else here?? wheres all the 2.30am starters??
I couldn't settle until about 15mins later I saw another two figures come walking towards us through the darkness and sure enough they were next in the queue and we were FIRST!!!!! I couldn't believe no one was ahead of us from what I had read! I'm just soo thankful people were less keen our week therefore making us first in line!
Slowly but surely the line got longer and longer and we all made friends with our neighbours - I advise you do this as these are the people you'll be sat beside in the studio as you're seated in queue number order. Everyone is soo lovely and as strictly obsessed as you are so getting acquainted really makes the time fly.

I must mention the exact queue start point is at the end of Maxwell road (side road to the left of Elstree when facing it). Walk to the end and you will see Maxwell Park Community Centre on your left with a small car park infront of it. Opposite the community centre you will see big silver iron gates right beside a path which continues into Maxwell Hillside Park. The queue starts at the gates and continues along the path into the park.

At around 7am a BBC staff member in a hi vis jacket came out and went along the queue explaining how the day is going to go. He explains that at 9am someone will come out and put a number sticker on your ticket print out then you can go away and don't have to be back until 3.30pm. He also said, and I think they had only brought in this rule that day, that both ticket holders DO NOT have to line up together and be present for the validation part - one person can queue on both of your behalfs. So one of you's can stay in bed while the other queues! It is a bit unfair one person doing all the queuing while the other relaxes but I'm sure this is valuable info for say if your partner was travelling down separately from you or was maybe less able to queue for that length of time.

9am came round in no time and sure enough the validation people came out and start scanning the barcode on your ticket then they sticker it with whatever number you are in the queue. My partner and I bounded off in joy knowing we had no 1 and 2 stickers on our tickets and that the queuing part was over!

Tips for the queue - wrap up warm, bring camping chairs, blankets, sleeping bags, food, flasks and books/mags. There is a 24 hours Tesco next door with a Costa inside it and a McDonalds across the road from it so there's plenty of places to get sustenance, use the toilet, stretch your legs and warm up a bit in. Everyone is very considerate with holding your place in the queue aswell.

So we headed back to the travelodge, had breakfast, napped, freshened up and started our glam process to be back at the same queue spot for 3.30pm. I would advise you to eat a large lunch before you head back to the studios because its a long time before you're fed again.

Got back to the queue spot again for 3.30pm to be greeted by a huge line of people. Do not be put off by this - no matter where you are in this second queue, even if you are at the back, when you eventually get into the holding marquee you will be brought into the studio in ticket number order and they are strict on this, which is a comforting thought.
Made it into the huge marquee where you have to give in your phone and coat at the cloakroom (leave your phone in your hotel/car because the line to get it back at the end is huge). Also ladies go in flats and bring your heels in your bag and change into them when you're there.
In the marquee there's a few seats, tv screens showing dance demos, a bar, a photobooth and a warm up lady with a microphone.
We met up with some of our queue friends in there who told us the lady with the microphone was looking for numbers 1 and 2 from the queue because she had a prize for us! My partner and I made our way to the lady who grabbed us, announced to the marquee that we were numbers 1 and 2, asked us our names, where we were from and what time we had started queuing at and we won a bottle of wine! was soo funny, a memory I won't forget.
There are double doors in the back right hand corner of the tent which are the doors into the studio. Make sure and use the toilet before the doors open cos there's no toilets inside and you're not allowed out again until the end of the Saturday show.
Finally the doors open about 5pm and we were allowed in!
We had the best seats sitting opposite the band with the stairs to Claudia on my left. There was a slight gap between me and Claudia's stairs and this was used as the main entrance/exit for everyone! judges, celebs and pros!! I literally got to say hello to everyone and was in touching distance from everyone brushing past me, I even got to speak properly to Len, Darcy, Carol and Ainsley! an absolute surreal experience!!
I cannot stress enough how friendly everyone is, there were no egos or diva antics.

Will Young's performance was filmed first then the Saturday show began live! Seeing all of the performances up close was truly magical, it didn't even seem real.

Saturday show ends then you have about a 20 min break to stretch your legs and production staff come round handing out a kitkat and a carton of juice.
Then the Sunday filming starts and its all very stop starty because they have the luxury of editing it. The Sunday opening pro dance had to be done about 3 times because of technicalities I'm assuming. They then film Lens Lense then its the elimination part. Daniel and Kirsty danced again then the judges vote. Daniel was voted off, takes his last spin round the floor then that was it! all over! It was about 10.30pm at this stage and everyone is ushered towards the exits and leaves.
There's a mass exodus towards the McDonalds across the road because at this point everyone is seriously flagging! We ate our McDonalds then headed back to our hotel after a positively magical evening.

I think I could easily say it was probably one of the best days of my life and I would do it all again in a heartbeat

I hope this helps some of you lucky enough to attend in the future x

I forgot to mention you are allowed to bring in a small handbag, something that can sit discreetly under your seat and isn't cumbersome or else you will be asked to leave it in the cloakroom. I packed a few snacks in my bag (nuts, cereal bars etc) incase hunger struck but it honestly didn't, from the buzz of it all we never felt hungry. You are also allowed to bring in a bottle of water/juice as long as the top is sealed and unopened.
It did get a bit cold in there after a while from the air con so ladies bring a light wrap/scarf or cardi with you.

Well just a tad excited to be going this weekend - Da da da da da da daaaa. Da da da da da!!!

...thanks DD for the update too, this thread has been so helpful

Me & Mum are staying at the ibis hotel the night before to get up early for queuing, I was thinking about queuing from 6am - should I be queue-ing earlier DD?? What was the queue like then?

Also what does everyone wear?

At 6am the queue had about 200 people in it or so? So quite long. So if you arrived at that time I'd say you would be seated on the floor in the rows either behind the judges or behind the celebs and production staff friends and family.
For the queue wrap up as warm as possible. For the show I personally would wear a bright or sparkly number so that you can be seen! The majority of people wear black so you really do stand out on tv if you wear something contrasting. The style is very classy and elegant for most people - gents in suits and ladies in cocktail dresses. Hope that helps

Brilliant, Thanks DD.
As I'm staying up there in the hotel, I may have to change my plans and set the alarm clock for a bit earlier then...thats if i sleep at all!!!! If I can validate both tickets? - I may leave my mum in bed at the hotel.
My niece has leant me a sliver fully sequined top so I will definatly wear that then.

Just wondering as we have a very long journey up - what would you say is the latest we could get away with joining the queue and still get in? are there often many people who turn up and dont get in? (I've read that the tickets aren't guaranteed). Not bothered about where we're sat just with such a long journey we dont want it to go to waste

On Saturday I was told that everyone got in and no one was turned away. I know that they're very careful with exactly how many tickets are given out so as to limit the possibility of people not getting in. So if you're not too fussed about where you're sat I wouldn't worry too much then about arriving early. There were still lots of people only arriving just after 9am as I was leaving after having my ticked validated.

Quick slightly unrelated question; do they only allocate tickets for the next upcoming show or do they do them for all the weeks in advance i.e. not worth applying now?

My mum commented at the weekend that she'd really like to go and I was going to try and get her some tickets as a surprise...I know it's hugely popular so I'm just wondering about my chances!

The random draw finished before the series began, but I think you'll still be able to apply for the Children in Need and Christmas specials.

slim to none! lol

on my "sorry you havent been successful" emails that I keep on getting there is a sentance that says

"We received a record breaking 4.8million requests for tickets for the 2015 series of Strictly Come Dancing"

I think the studio holds about 500 guests all inclusive (including guests of the pros,celebs, judges etc) so the chances of you getting a ticket is extremely slim

sadly you have missed the opportunity to be put into the random drawer for this series but you can always apply next year

I was lucky enough to go last year where validation was 12 noon, me and my friend arrived at 9am and were got stickers 180-something

people were arriving at 12 noon and I know alot of them didnt get in

it also depends how many tickets have been allocated to production guests as I believe that varies from week to week

My advice, get there as early as you can, the earlier you get in the que the more likely to are to get in

good luck

Thanks, DD - very informative.

Was I the audience last night and was truly amazing...I will never forget!!!
Thanks for all your tips on here.
The best thing we did was book the ibis hotel with a late check out for the Friday night.
They gave us a car park voucher, so didn't have to pay for parking either.
Got to the queue at 4am and we were 9th & 10th in the queue, took seats, blankets and a hot drink. The time passed so quickly every one in the queue was excited to be there and chatting. The hotel was just was just across the road so popped back for the toilet.
Once validated tickets..we went back to the hotel for sleep, food and glam up... went back to queue to get into the holding tent at 3.15pm.
Put coats in cloakroom and headed straight to the photo booth to get a photo (free). There was bar, snacks and toilets in the tent...we got called into the studio at 5pm.
The first 28 are called in we sat directly opposite the stage in the front row, with the stairs on the left upto Claudia. (So the celebs and dancers ran towards you to go up the stairs.
The seats were amazing, perfect view of everything... next to where all the dancers and stars entered and exited the stage.
Everyone was lovely chatted to most of the dancers and stars, even getting a kiss from Peter Andre, Ainsley chatted for ages and even gave mum a cheeky butt wiggle.
All the girls particularly jeanette and Jo were lovely...really happy and chatting away with us all.
So top tips I agree with DD queue early, take a chair for queuing and book a hotel with a late check out so you have somewhere to go back to to get changed and have a sleep.
You are so lucky if you get tickets - they said everyone got in this week too....have fun if your going x

Really interesting info - thanks, guys! I haven't ever (yet!) been lucky enough to get tickets, but I love hearing all these little details. It all adds to the enjoyment of the experience, even when it's from home!

Sorry to bump the thread, but I've been lucky enough to get tickets for the semi final from my friends mum who works behind the scenes of Strictly!

I was wondering if anyone knows whether these would be production seats as my friends mum works for the bbc (she has given me her tickets) and whether I need to queue up early to get a good number in order to get good seats as I don't want to have to get there early if not necessary!

Sorry if that doesn't make much sense, would be grateful to anyway who could help me out

Congratulations on the tickets Abby. I guess the best person to ask that is the lady you got the tickets from. I'm sure your mum could ask her. But if I had to guess, I'd say you don't queue.

Don't know why I didn't think of that Thank you!

Sometimes the most obvious solution eludes us .
Sounds to me like you won't be queueing , in fact you'll likely be in with the vip pals and families, you lucky girl . That's an exciting event for you to look forward to . Don't forget to tell us all about it after the event .

So excited! Will definitely post afterwards for anyone who's interested

Yes please - very long posts or lots of posts would be very much appreciated
( If you've time. )

I'm going on Saturday 28th - so excited! Not sure what to wear - will it be too warm in the studio for a light jacket?

Thanks to those who have posted about their experience of this years series. I have tickets for next weekend and have a two questions:

1) I live 40 minutes drive from the studio so I was thinking of aiming to get there for 5am which I'm hoping will put me in a decent place in the queue. Should I aim for earlier and is there free parking nearby? I have a Xmas party on the Fri so could stay up and go straight there in the early hours - crazy idea?
2) From what I understand at 9am they validate tickets and then you do not need to return until about 3ish? I am planning on going home during that time so to have a sleep (see above!), get ready and drive back - risky idea in case caught in traffic? Also where is the best place to park during the time when I will be in the studio?

Any updated tips on this excellent post as we are going for the final on the 19th we have booked the travelodge for the 18th and 19th so queuing early is not an issue would you say being the final queuing will start early? does 2.30am sound about right or would you advise earlier being the final

Regards