Leeds Castle welcomed sequin-decked celebrities and bow-tie bearing ballroom dancers to film the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.

The landmark, in Maidstone, provided the setting for the programme's opening number, which will see show favourites Mark Wright, Chizzy Akudolu and Debbie McGee among others, dust off their dancing shoes and shake a leg with their professional partners.

Preview of Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special, featuring Leeds Castle. Credit to BBC.

The Strictly Come Dancing team were not the only TV crew to visit the castle this year, with Countryfile popping by in January and Phil Spencer's Stately Homes also filming for a week only a fortnight before Strictly came to call.

The Stately Homes episode is expected to air in spring.

The Strictly filming took 19 hours. Gemma Wright, senior PR and filming officer at Leeds Castle said about 100 cast and crew members descended on the grounds with ten bags of costumes, make-up and kit.

In a behind the scenes trailer, released on the show's social media channels, the celebrities, who also include Youtube star Joe Sugg and former Hollyoaks actress Gemma Atkinson, take a turn on the ferris wheel in the castle's Christmas market.

They can also be seen strutting their stuff in the gardens.

Gemma said: "It was like a well oiled machine, the Strictly machine turned up and we were delighted."

"We had hair and make up arriving at 5.30am and we finished at around 10.30pm, it was a long day.

"We just kept having torrential rain. They would go for a take and then it would rain. We were really battling in the weather. It was quite tough."

During the day, the visitors were given a tour of the castle, which is celebrating its 900th anniversary this year, with several celebrities admitting they now wanted to book the venue for their wedding.

Several members of Gemma's team played a crucial role, opening the castle's gates when a professional dancer introduced "Strictly Wonderland", at the beginning of the teaser trailer.

The castle staff, like many members of the public, could not completely escape Strictly fever.

"I'm a huge Strictly fan so I was over the moon when I found out they were coming to us," Gemma said.

"Our hospitality operations manager Simon, his surname is McGhie and his mum's name is Debbie McGhie so he was really excited to meet another Debbie McGee."

The Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special will air on Christmas Day, BBC One, 4.40pm.

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