Strictly scaled down
BBC bosses cut number of contestants and push back launch date
STRICTLY Come Dancing will be shorter and have fewer celebrities than usual this year as the BBC has been forced to adapt the show amid the pandemic.
The programme will start in October instead of September because the professional dancers will have to quarantine for two weeks after they pre-record their group routines in August.
Show sources say that because of the delay there will only be 13 or 14 celebrities on the 18th series instead of 15.
This month it was revealed that professional dancers, including Anton du Beke, 53, and Oti Mabuse, 29, are set to isolate in a hotel for 14 days so they can record the group routines.
They have been told to rehearse remotely first, before leaving their families to quarantine together in August where they will practice their performances together.
The dancers, who will be joined by key production members, will then pre-record the performances back in the studio with a limited crew. But because they must quarantine for two weeks following the pre-record and before they meet
‘I’d miss the glitz and glamour’
their partners, the launch date has been pushed back. It usually takes place at the end of August, with the first live show airing over three weeks later. With the quarantine restrictions in place it means the show will be slightly delayed and begin broadcasting in October. A BBC spokesman said: ‘The team are doing everything they can to bring people plenty of Strictly magic later this year. The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us and further updates will be made in due course.’
Further plans for the 18th series are being discussed but have not yet been confirmed.
Earlier this month head judge Shirley Ballas suggested that Strictly could return to screens with contestants ‘distancing dancing’ as lockdown measures are eased. The 59-year-old, who joined the judging panel in 2017, said she had sent the BBC1 show’s producers an example of how celebrities and their professional partners could perform without touching.
She said the method would be ‘challenging’ but could make the show more interesting to viewers.
Ms Ballas said on ITV’s Loose Women: ‘I am absolutely positive that they will bring the best show that they can. I couldn’t imagine the autumn and the winter months without the glitz, the glamour, and I think everybody is looking forward to it.’