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Judges dress up for 2016's Strictly Christmas Special strictly

Strictly Come Dancing's Christmas Special is in jeopardy as the winner has been leaked weeks before the show airs.

Show bosses are furious as the popular BBC1 series has been plunged into crisis after word has gotten out about who has won the glitterball trophy in the annual festive episode.

The show's favourite stars from past series' come together each year to pre-record a Christmas special which will be aired on the BBC over the festive period.

But the Daily Star reports that Strictly chiefs are in a panic as they wanted the results to remain secret. The publication cites that BBC bosses are worried that the winner's identity leaking to the public could stop people from tuning in.

Strictly fanatics have been looking forward to seeing former competitors including Kimberley Walsh, Judy Murray, Katie Derham and Jeremy Vine return to the dance floor among others.

Some already know who the winner is, with Twitter users slamming the BBC for not filming the Christmas Special live to avoid any leaks. One wrote: "If @BBCStrictly don't want the Christmas special spoilers to be leaked online, why not make it more special & filmed it LIVE on Christmas eve. (I've checked the results & I glad (*) won the special) #Strictly".

Another said: "The only way to stop the #strictly spoilers from happening especially for the Christmas special, is to have it live and nobody is going to give up their xmas day lmao".

Strictly's Christmas special has become one of the star shows of Christmas Day, so the winner leaking could be a disaster for the BBC.

The episode is recorded well in advance despite the risk of spoilers, with this year's show filmed on Monday (27 November), with the stars spotted arriving at the studio to film their scenes on the dance floor.