I leak Strictly Come Dancing spoilers – the BBC only contacted me once

‘I would get people on there asking me to DM them the results, which I did. Eventually, it got to a point where quite a few people were asking, so I put the spoiler on a blog that I was running at the time, linked to it on Twitter, and a couple of years later I got a Google search ranking, and it just snowballed from there.’

Dave began his blog in 2012 and by 2014 he was getting thousands of views, describing his rise to internet prominence as ‘crazy’.

For the past decade, it has been widely reported that the BBC tears its hair out each weekend over Dave’s antics, with sources claiming they’re outraged by him leaking the spoiler for anyone to access.

However, Dave is keen to set the record straight.

‘There was one occasion in 2015 when [the BBC] claimed the Facebook page that I operate infringed upon their trademarks and got Facebook to temporarily take it down, but I appealed that, and the BBC relented and got Facebook to restore the page.

‘That was literally the last time I had any contact with them. I think they’re just happy to maintain the status quo now.’

He adds that the only thing that would make him stop what he’s doing is if the BBC were to air live results shows, but he can’t see that happening anytime soon.

‘I think the last time the BBC ran live results on Strictly was 2009, so that’s probably not on the cards. I think the BBC just accepts that if you’re prerecording something the day before it goes out, it’s going to leak, unfortunately.’

Assuring us that he’s not ‘anti-BBC’, he insists that, by leaking the results, he is able to ease viewers’ anxiety as they head into Sunday night’s episode feeling less stressed when those dreaded red lights appear.

So, how exactly does he do it?

‘There are a couple of other sources I work quite closely with, such as Facebook groups. Normally, between us we have one, two, maybe three moles in the audience, so it’s quite easy to verify the information that one of us gets against what another mole is saying and then confirm it that way.

‘With regards to sourcing moles, I have quite a wide social reach now with about 35,000 people on my Facebook page, so I’ll put an appeal out and someone will get in touch if they have audience tickets.’

Should there be a delay in verifying the results, for whatever reason, Dave relies on backup moles, which can result in the StrictlySpoiler only being posted on Sunday morning. He does not, however, disclose their identity.

Despite some backlash on social media and claims that Dave is ‘ruining’ the magic of Strictly, the overall consensus is that he’s doing audiences a favour. To the trolls, he reminds people that they must actively seek out the spoiler themselves, as he never posts it directly to X.

Because of this community he’s created, Dave can display ads on his website, which, despite sometimes costing thousands to run mid-Strictly season, is able to fund his lifestyle rather nicely.

‘This kind of is my job. For the rest of the year, I’m studying software engineering at university,’ he shares, adding that all the media attention surrounding what he does is ‘perplexing’ at times’.

‘The attention has been thrust upon me, as this wasn’t something I deliberately set out to do; it just accidentally happened and has been snowballing ever since.’