November 2nd 2024.
As Strictly Come Dancing fans eagerly await the reveal of the latest eliminated couple each weekend, there's one man who has the inside scoop before the official results show. Meet Dave Thorp, the mastermind behind StrictlySpoiler, a website dedicated to leaking the results each week before the BBC has a chance to air them.
With up to 500,000 views at times, Dave's website has become a go-to source for many Strictly fanatics, who even subscribe to his Patreon or PayPal service. This has allowed Dave to turn his passion for StrictlySpoiler into a full-time job while also studying.
In an exclusive chat with Metro, Dave opens up about his double life and even shares the one and only time the BBC contacted him – and it may not be for the reason you'd expect. He explains how StrictlySpoiler came about: "It was a bit of an accident. I was originally a member of a spoiler thread on a discussion forum and mentioned on Twitter that I had the spoiler."
The BBC airs pre-recorded results each Sunday night, leaving hundreds of thousands of fans on the edge of their seats, anxiously waiting to find out if their favorite stars are safe. But thanks to Dave's website, they don't have to sweat it out. "I would get people on there asking me to DM them the results, which I did. Eventually, it got to a point where quite a few people were asking, so I put the spoiler on a blog that I was running at the time, linked to it on Twitter, and a couple of years later I got a Google search ranking, and it just snowballed from there," Dave shares.
Dave started his blog in 2012, and by 2014, it was getting thousands of views, describing his rise to internet prominence as "crazy." For the past decade, there have been reports that the BBC is outraged by Dave's leaks and has even tried to take down his Facebook page. But Dave sets the record straight, saying, "There was one occasion in 2015 when [the BBC] claimed the Facebook page that I operate infringed upon their trademarks and got Facebook to temporarily take it down, but I appealed that, and the BBC relented and got Facebook to restore the page."
Despite some backlash on social media, Dave insists there's no bad blood between him and the BBC. In fact, he believes that by leaking the results, he's actually helping viewers by easing their anxiety when watching the Sunday night episode. "The only thing that would make me stop what I'm doing is if the BBC were to air live results shows, but I can't see that happening anytime soon," he adds.
So, how does Dave manage to get his hands on the results before anyone else? "There are a couple of other sources I work quite closely with, such as Facebook groups. Normally, between us, we have one, two, maybe three moles in the audience, so it's quite easy to verify the information that one of us gets against what another mole is saying and then confirm it that way," he explains.
And when there's a delay in verifying the results, Dave relies on backup moles, which can result in the StrictlySpoiler being posted on Sunday morning. However, he keeps their identities a secret. Despite some criticism, Dave believes he's doing audiences a favor by providing them with the results. "To the trolls, he reminds people that they must actively seek out the spoiler themselves, as he never posts it directly to X," Metro reports.
Thanks to the community he has built, Dave can display ads on his website, which helps fund his lifestyle. "This kind of is my job. For the rest of the year, I'm studying software engineering at university," he shares. And although all the media attention surrounding his leaks can be perplexing at times, Dave is grateful for the platform he has created. "The attention has been thrust upon me, as this wasn't something I deliberately set out to do; it just accidentally happened and has been snowballing ever since," he says.
As for who will be eliminated next on Strictly, it's anyone's guess. This season has seen some incredible performances from the likes of Chris McCausland, Strictly's first-ever blind contestant, and Tasha Ghouri, their first cochlear implant user. Other standout contestants include Miranda actress Sarah Hadland, EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick, JLS pop star JB Gill, and podcaster Pete Wicks.
The BBC declined to comment when contacted about Dave's leaks. But one thing is for sure – millions of viewers will continue tuning in each weekend to get their dose of dazzling Strictly action. The show airs on Saturday and Sunday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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