Strictly’s Anton du Beke vows he will return to the show after it was rocked by AJ Pritchard and Kevin Clifton’s departures… as he confirms it is going ahead as normal amid COVID-19 crisis
Anton du Beke has vowed to return to the Strictly dance floor for the next series and cleared up concerns over the show’s fate amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The hit BBC ballroom show was recently rocked after favourites AJ Pritchard and Kevin Clifton revealed they wouldn’t be returning for the next series.
However Anton, 53, has reassured his fans that he will be returning for this year’s series of the show when appearing on The Steph Show on Friday.
The show must go on: Anton du Beke has vowed to return to the Strictly dance floor for the next series and cleared up concerns over the show’s fate amid the coronavirus pandemic
Diffusing rumours the show won’t go ahead later this year, Anton said: They’re carrying on with it for now, the whole pre production will be going on as normal’
He continued: ‘It’s when we get into the studio, we pros get into the studio in August… so hopefully we will be out of it [Coronavirus] by then, so hopefully, we can get back into the studio.’
As for when the celebrities hit the dance floor, Anton confirmed: ‘The actual live stuff doesn’t start until about September, so we’re hoping we’ll be out of it by then and back to some sort of normality.
Reassurance: The hit BBC ballroom show was recently rocked after favourites AJ Pritchard and Kevin Clifton revealed they wouldn’t be returning for the next series
‘I think everyone will be ready for a bit of Strictly Come Dancing by then!’
Anton’s promise comes after AJ announced his plan to leave the show.
His exit was also described as a ‘double blow’ for Strictly bosses as it came just weeks after Kevin confirmed his exit.
A source told The Sun that production for the new series of Strictly has been placed on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, and AJ’s exit is just another blow.
They said: ‘It’s terrible timing, AJ was a big part of the show’s future and nobody saw this coming at all.
‘Things are really tough at the moment. The show doesn’t come back until the Autumn but, by now, the programme would have liked to have one or two big celeb names signed up.
‘So far there is nobody on the books. Everything has been put on hold because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Double blow: Anton’s promise comes after AJ announced his plan to leave the show. His exit was also described as a ‘double blow’ for Strictly bosses as it came just weeks after Kevin confirmed his exit
‘Now, as well as facing a search for big names, the bosses need to replace one of their top male dancers.’
The insider also claimed that ITV could try to snap up AJ and his brother Curtis for a presenting job, after the pair revealed their ambitions to become the next Ant and Dec.
Representatives for Strictly Come Dancing and AJ Pritchard declined to comment to MailOnline. A representatives for Kevin Clifton has been contacted for comment.
They’ll be back: Anton shared that he hoped by September everything will be back to normal and said ‘I think everyone will be ready for a bit of Strictly Come Dancing by then!’