strictly dancers

This Strictly professional just revealed a surprising behind-the-scenes secret from the show

It's magic…

Acting Fashion and Beauty Editor
August 6, 2019

Strictly Come Dancing professional Graziano Di Prima has revealed a very surprising beauty secret from the 2019 series - he's had his trademark chest tattoo covered up for this year's official advert! The gang was all back together to shoot the official trailer for the new series on Monday - and in his Instagram selfie from the makeup chair, Graziano showed followers his new tat-free look. "Let’s see who [can] guess, what is missing?!" he captioned the shot. 

vick hope graziano di prima strictly

Graziano had his tattoo covered for the new promo

One of the show's makeup artists Bryony Blake also shared some before and after photos on her Instagram page, writing: "Now you see it, now you don't! The things these @bbcstrictly dancers go through. So glad you got your smile back @grazianodiprima."

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We're not surprised the show's fans were pretty impressed with the transformation, since Bryony did an incredible job of making the large tattoo completely invisible. "You covered that up? That’s amazing," one wrote, while another asked, "What did you use to cover it up with Bryony? I have a tattoo on my arm that I want to cover up for my wedding." The jury's still out on the MUA's secret product, however. 

It's not known why Graziano was asked to cover his tattoos for this year's trailer - we wonder if Gorka Marquez, who also rocks plenty of body art, will sport ink-free skin in the advert, too? It's unlikely it's a permanent change, since the stars have regularly shown their tattoos during the live shows and official promotional photographs. 

MORE: Strictly makeup artist Lisa Armstrong spills all her best beauty secrets

Graziano has opened up about his tattoo before, explaining that it has significant meaning to him. He told The Sun: "My tattoo is really important to me. It's my star sign, a Taurus. If I was born again as an animal, I would be a bull — because they are elegant and strong."

Graziano joined Strictly with Luba Mushtuk and Johannes Radebe in 2018

It won't be long before the next series of Strictly starts up again, and we can't wait to see all the stars in their glitter, sequins, spray tans and falsies! The makeup team is headed up by Lisa Armstrong - who was glamming-up Aljaz Skorjanec and Janette Manrara on Monday's shoot - while Lisa Davey is in charge of hair. And since RuPaul's Drag Race star Michelle Visage has recently been announced as one of the show's 2019 contestants, we reckon the looks are going to be even more dramatic than ever this year! We. Can't. Wait. 

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