George Clarke and several of his fellow Strictly Come Dancing stars were scrolling through their social feeds last month when something stopped them in their tracks.
Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman had just announced in an Instagram video that they were stepping down as presenters of the hit BBC One show after 21 and 11 years respectively.
Not that the contestants of the current series knew – this was news to them.
“I think we found out as everybody else did, just on their socials, which I’m constantly refreshing anyway, as I’m a big fan,” said Clarke, a YouTuber and podcaster.
“I don’t think anybody expected it.”
“We’d just finished on Lorraine, and we just looked at our phones and we saw it on social media,” added Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope.
“We were so shocked. And then we were told later, it had to be that way, and they couldn’t really give anyone a heads up.”
“No one saw it coming,” drag queen and Strictly star La Voix said.
Daly and Winkleman’s revelation sparked a huge reaction online, with the pair saying in a joint statement at the time that they “were always going to leave together and now feels like the right time”.
It’s the right time for them, but a rocky time for the show – following several controversies in recent years.
And on Thursday night, it emerged that an unnamed Strictly star was arrested last month on suspicion of rape. Hertfordshire Police said the man was released on bail under investigation.
The development is not understood to be related to the current series of Strictly.