MX23RW : Thursday, October 31 23:09:36| >> :600:98789120:98789120:

Strictly celebs may be granted week off in event of positive coronavirus test

Strictly celebs may be granted week off in event of positive coronavirus test
© BBC
Contestants on Strictly Come Dancing who test positive for coronavirus may not be automatically eliminated this year, according to showrunner Sarah James.

Strictly Come Dancing boss Sarah James has revealed that celebrities who test positive for coronavirus this year may not necessarily be eliminated from the show.

Last year Strictly was staged under strict coronavirus health and safety conditions - and when Katya Jones caught the disease, she and celeb partner Nicola Adams were automatically dropped from the competition.

Twelve months down the line the situation has changed, however, with the majority of the public now having been vaccinated and government rules having been loosened accordingly.

Speaking to the Daily Mail about this year's series, James said: "Sadly there will be some protocols in place this year with COVID still being around, some stuff is better than last year and some stuff is kind of the same.

"The professional dancers are all in a hotel together in a household and we're recording most of the group numbers for the series, and then when we get into the live shows they will be tested weekly and they'll bubble up with their celebrities and we'll keep them all distanced from each other; they'll be sitting in the audience like last year.

"Keeping everybody safe is the show's priority, we will have a limited audience like last year, and the better news is last year the isolation period if you received a positive test for 14 days. If a celebrity receives a positive test, it doesn't necessarily means they have to leave the competition. They might miss a week."

The new series starts on BBC One on Saturday, September 18.

ID:463538:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect2420:

Follow us on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.

Media Mole Low-Price Offer: Get Sky Entertainment, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £20 a month + £0 upfront fee for 24 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends November 6, 2024


Click here for more stories about Sarah James

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Strictly Come Dancing's Graziano Di Prima
Read Next:
Graziano Di Prima 'picked to dance in Strictly's male couple'
>
rhs 2.0
New TV Picks header

Halloween 2024


Deadhouse Dark: ITVX, from 6am
Six short horror stories featuring a woman who receives a sinister 'mystery box' from the dark web

The Brain That Wouldn't Die: Rewind TV, 7.10pm
1963 horror about a doctor who keeps his girlfriend's head alive when she is decapitated in a car crash, then goes hunting for a new body

RuPaul's Drag Race UK: BBC Three, 9pm
Snatch Game time, with guest judge Amanda Holden

EastEnders: iPlayer, from 6am and BBC One, 7.30pm
It's Halloween at The Vic - and Nish summons The Six for a frightening meeting