Strictly's Karen Hauer addresses 'who's not welcome in their group' after BBC show drama

Strictly Come Dancing professional Karen Hauer has revealed who she is closest to from the show and why she only allows certain people into her close circle. The dance competition's longest-serving female professional will be back on the dance floor later this year for a very special series to mark its 20th anniversary.

Those also back and hoping to win the Glitterball trophy include the likes of Gorka Marquez, Dianne Buswell, Graziano Di Prima and Amy Dowden, but are they all as close as it appears on-screen? Speaking ahead of her tour with Gorka, Karen, 42, gushed over her friendship with the latter and shared how they grew close due to their similar personality traits and the fact they both speak Spanish.

She added of their co-stars: "That's why I guess we have a very close circle of friends because we're pretty much the same. We like good energy. If you can't take a joke, you can't hang out with us.

"You have to have fun and banter - we love good banter. It's always been like that since the beginning." Quizzed on who from the Strictly gang is a part of their circle, Karen shared that Jowita Przystal is one of her good friends, as is Luba Mushtuk.

Of the latter, however, she told Heat Magazine: "Sometimes she can be a bit spicy, she doesn't take jokes too well, but we're all pretty friendly. Neil [Jones] is awesome." Together, the five share a WhatsApp group titled, 'The Back of the bus' in contrast to their position on the bus during the nationwide professionals tour.

She added: "Everybody likes to hang out with us because we're just really cool."

With Strictly celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, Kalpna Patel-Knight, Head of Entertainment at the BBC, has promised "a very special programme".

Details about the series are currently under wraps and, according to Karen, the pros also have no knowledge about what's to come as of yet.

"The only thing we know is that we're coming back and we start next month. Once that starts, they will let us know bit by bit what we're doing throughout the season," she explained.

Not back on the show this year is Giovanni Pernice, who joined the line-up back in 2015.

The dancer is currently at the centre of an internal investigation following accusations about his alleged "militant" behaviour in training.

Speculation about his teaching methods grew following Amanda Abbington's early exit from the show last series.

It's since been confirmed by law firm Carter Ruck that three of his former celebrity partners have put forward complaints and that an investigation is taking place.

A spokesman for Giovanni told The Sun: “Schillings is engaging with BBC Studios to provide it with Giovanni’s evidence to strongly rebut the claims being made about him and confirm that Giovanni is fully cooperating with that process.

“As with any reality TV show, when decisions are being made for entertainment reasons, the producers have a duty of care to all participants.”

Giovanni has vehemently denied any wrongdoing and in May told fans he was "looking forward" to clearing his name.

He signed off the post, adding: "Thank you all once again for your continued love and support!"