Strictly Come Dancing fans are gearing up for another elimination in Sunday night’s installment, but some are already well aware of who is going home. Leaks are shared before the pre-recorded goodbyes, but how exactly is this done?

The episodes broadcast on the BBC are actually pre-recorded, with an audience sworn to secrecy before the release is revealed to the general public. But not everyone is able to keep quiet and reveal their findings on the online blog The Strictly Spoiler.

Created by Dave Thorp, the TV superfan has been posting the show’s results for years, long before the BBC announcements. With sometimes half a million visitors to his website, Mr. Thorp runs it on donations through PayPal and Patreon.

He has now explained the ins and outs of running the sneaky page and reveals Strictly bosses even tried to get it shut down. “There was an occasion in 2015 when (the BBC) claimed that the Facebook page I operate was infringing on their brands and asked Facebook to temporarily remove it,” he said. Metro.co.uk.

“I appealed, and the BBC gave in and asked Facebook to restore the page,” he explained. Mr Thorp started his controversial blog in 2012, and in 2014 he claims the interest was “crazy” – and that led to more internal “moles”.

On how he gets the spoilers, Dave told Metro: “There are a few other sources that I work closely with, like Facebook groups. Normally between us we have one, two, maybe three moles in the public, so it’s pretty It’s easy to check the information one of us gets against what another mole says, and then confirm it that way.

“In terms of sourcing moles, I now have quite a large social reach with around 35,000 people on my Facebook page, so I will put a call out and someone will contact me if they have audience tickets “, he explained.

Sometimes there can be a delay, and that’s when Mr Thorp relies on his “backup moles”, with spoilers then going live on Sunday morning. He keeps identities hidden and posts anonymously on social media.

It runs adverts on its website, which can apparently cost up to £750 a month to run. “It’s kind of my job. The rest of the year I study software engineering at university,” he added. “The attention was on me because it wasn’t something I deliberately set out to do; it happened by accident and it’s just snowballed ever since.”

After being contacted by the BBC To close the blog, Mr. Thorp says that hasn’t stopped him from pursuing spoilers. Speaking about the 2015 incident, he told the newspaper: “That was literally the last time I had any contact with them. I think they’re just happy to maintain the status quo now.”

Seemingly unstoppable, he believes that the only thing that could stop StrictlySpoiler would be if the BBC began broadcasting the results live. “I think the last time BBC The live results on Strictly are from 2009, so it’s probably not expected.

“I think the BBC just accept that if you pre-record something the day before it’s released, it will unfortunately leak. Not everyone agrees with his online antics, but Mr Thorp says his leaks “ease viewers’ anxiety” ahead of Sunday night’s show.

It comes as fans were left shocked by the latest strict elimination, which went viral on social media on Saturday night. One fan said: “The StrictlySpoiler is truly shocking, my god.” Another added: “Strictly spoiler, makes me a little angry here. »

Strictly Come Dance results broadcast this evening at 7:20 p.m. BBC One and BBC iPlayer.