Got tickets for Strictly - how early do we need to get there?

[partystress]

Beyond excited! First year DD is old enough and we have got lucky in the ballot. It says we can register from 9, but do we really need to get to Elstree much earlier?

Bumping to try to catch non-nocturnals!

Congratulations on the tickets!!
I’ve been lucky enough to go a couple of times while it’s been at Elstree. We started queueing about 4/4.30 both times and we’re under number 20 in the queue both times. Validation was at 12 the first time and think might have been earlier the second time. We had seats directly opposite the main stairs that everyone comes down at the beginning.
The second time we did intend getting there later to see what it was like sitting somewhere else (has been sat somewhere similar when it was at BBC centre) but woke up early and decided to go queue!!
I would try to get there earlier than 9 if you can, as people do get turned away once all seats have been allocated. We’ve always had a great time in the queue - everyone’s really friendly and time flies!

We got there at about 845/9 and we were numbers 99 and 100, seated second row back behind the friends and family. There are plenty of seats.

I should clarify my post - you don’t for a second need to get there anywhere near 4.30, would be fine much later!! We had to travel down the night before and stayed over at the Ibis over the road, so just got up and walked over the road.

Congrats! We went in the Jay year (three years ago?) and got there about 6.30am (validation was at 9am but ended up being more like 9.30) - we drove down as we're only an hour away, but I think if we went again we'd stay overnight as it was a very long day.

We were 199 and 200 in the queue, and had not great seats - downstairs right at the back. I do think we got unlucky with where we were placed, as people very close to us in the queue were two rows closer, but it was still rather annoying having stood in the drizzle for three hours! Be aware the seats are very tightly packed - we're both a little larger than average (though not huge by any means) and found it a squeeze.

However... as far as I can tell there are no really bad seats. It's a small studio and wherever you are, you'll feel part of the action - you can hear the couples talking and see facial expressions even on the other side of the room (we were opposite the judges). Tess and Claudia are very funny when they're not filming, and there's always something going on.

The worst bit was mid/late afternoon - you have to be at the studio a good couple of hours before they let you in, but you're not allowed phones and there's limited space and seating. There is some entertainment and you occasionally see celebs/dancers wandering around, but for the most part it's very dull. We ended up going to the loo a lot in the hope of spotting famous people

Interesting that Vick on Capital Radio today said had been a 'conflab' conversation between producers before head judge Shirley Ballas gave her decision to save Walsh and Jones.

She thought it was a bit weird. Well it wouldn't surprise me if the producers are getting more say than they should. Who are these producers?

Who are these producers and where do they come from??

Thanks all! Will try to get there really early then if it affects where you sit. Is it easy to park?

There is a big car park over the road, behind the Ibis.