Historic St Osyth Priory took centre stage for the new series of the BBC’s flagship show Strictly Come Dancing.
The multi-award winning TV show – which is famed for its glitz and glamour – launched its new series on Saturday with 15 celebrity contestants meeting their professional dance partners for the first time.
More than five million viewers tuned in to watch the show with more catching up on BBC iPlayer.
Stars of this year’s series include actors Lewis Cope and Stefan Dennis, sports stars Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Chris Robshaw and controversial contestant of The Apprentice Thomas Skinner.
Viewers saw five of the celebrities waiting nervously at St Osyth Priory to find out who their dance partners would be.
Model and actress Ellie Goldstein, who became the first model with Down syndrome to feature on the cover of Vogue and appear in a campaign for fashion giant Gucci, waited in the formal gardens of the priory, smiling broadly as she discovered she would be partnering former Strictly winner Vito Coppola.
EastEnders actor – and Strictly superfan – Balvinder Sopal, who plays Suki in the BBC soap, was paired with dancer Julian Caillon who is looking forward to his first year on the show.
Shakespearean and TV actor Alex Kingston joyously greeted flamboyant dancer Johannes Radebe outside the priory while TV personality and broadcaster Vicky Pattison was filmed in the stunning panelled Darcy House to meet popular dancer partner Kai Widdrington.
England footballer and Lioness Karen Carney smiled with delight when she saw dancer and choreographer Carlos Gu.
Aerial shots also showed the priory’s scoping grounds and stunning gardens as well as the exterior of the magnificent estate.
William Grinsted, managing director of St Osyth Priory Estate, said it was wonderful to welcome the Strictly celebrities and dancers and he said he hoped the venue would be used again in the future.
He said: “Everyone was so nice and it was great to have them here. They seemed to be having a good time and they were laughing and chatting with each other.
“We have had historians filming here before and, of course, TV presenter George Clarke, who officially opened the restore Gatehouse. But having Strictly to film here was the pinnacle. The estate looked amazing and we are hoping it will lead to more opportunities.”
The priory was founded shortly after 1120 as a house for Augustinian canons. It was given to Thomas Cromwell but after his execution in 1547 it was passed to Princess Mary and then to the 1st Lord Darcy of Chich. Lord Darcy was responsible for transforming the monastic remains into a substantial country house between 1553 and his death in 1558.
Elizabeth I visited St Osyth Priory twice on her Royal Progress in 1561 and again in 1579.
The Sargeant family bought the estate in 1999 and began a major restoration of the 16 listed buildings.
As a result, a multi-million pound schedule of works on the priory estate has secured the future of one of the largest collections of ecclesiastical buildings in the country while also giving the estate a viable economic future as a luxury venue for weddings, corporate events and holiday accommodation.
