Strictly Come Dancing’s professional dancers are reportedly being asked to make a huge personal sacrifice to ensure the BBC show can go ahead safely this year.
It has been reported that the dance show’s professionals will be heading for a six-week lockdown ahead of the series starts amid coronavirus restrictions.
This would mean that they could be without their family and friends until early September, if the lockdown gets the green light from show bosses.
After this, the professionals will then be asked to form bubbles with their celebrity partners so that the Beeb’s flagship show is protected from the spread of Covid-19.
Speaking to The Sun, a show insider said: “These are unprecedented times.
“The crew and dancers are still reeling at being told how extreme the measures have to be. They’ve left one lockdown for another.”
The insider went on to say that it will not be “easy being separated for that length of time,” from their loved ones.
The dancers are “determined to bring it back to our screens,” as they “love the show,” so will undertake the hardship so that the series can go ahead.
It has been reported that the dancers will be staying together in a London hotel, where they will rehearse their group numbers.
They will then be taken to the studios at Elstree in Borehamwood, so that their routines can be filmed ahead of the series.
The dancers will then be asked to isolate at home before being introduced to their celebrity partners.
The insider added that the group will be tested for the virus “constantly” and that the lockdown “only affects people that need to be within two metres of each other.”
The BBC has already announced that the new series will start on October 24, which is a month behind it’s usual opening night.
It will then run for nine weeks instead of the usual 13, with a reduced number of celebrities being involved this year.
It has not been decided whether a live audience will be allowed in the studio, with a BBC spokesman admitting: “Getting production up and running safely is our priority.”