Strictly bosses ‘scrap Blackpool week and group dances’ as they attempt to save show amid COVID-19 pandemic
Strictly Come Dancing bosses have reportedly scrapped Blackpool week and group dances for this year’s upcoming series.
Sources claim TV executives ‘made the difficult decision’ to exclude the some of the show’s stand-out features in a bid to comply with current social distancing guidelines amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this month, BBC Director of Content Charlotte Moore has revealed producers are still assessing contingency plans such as enforcing a face mask rule, dancing two metres apart and even quarantining celebrities and professional dancers.
Shake up: Strictly Come Dancing bosses have reportedly scrapped Blackpool week and group dances for this year’s upcoming series (Chris Ramsay and Karen Hauer pictured last year)
Blackpool week, set at the iconic Blackpool Tower, usually takes place during the later stages of the series, while group dances are performed during the results’ shows.
A source told Daily Star: ‘Strictly will be a very different show this year. A lot of the things fans love have been dropped.
‘Group dances and a studio audience just can’t happen with social distancing. Cancelling Blackpool weekend was not an easy decision. But doing it in the current climate is too difficult. It isn’t worth doing if there won’t be a crowd.’
BBC representatives declined to comment when contacted by MailOnline.
Drastic measures: Sources claim TV executives ‘made the difficult decision’ in a bid to comply with current social distancing guidelines (Emma Barton and Anton Du Beke pictured)
Tradition: Blackpool week usually takes place during the later stages of the series, while group dances are performed during the results’ shows (Alex Scott pictured at Blackpool last year)
Last week, BBC boss Charlotte revealed TV executives are considering putting forward drastic measures in an attempt to save the show amid the coronavirus crisis.
Charlotte told The Times: ‘We’re looking at how that would work. Could you quarantine people? Can we test everyone before filming? There’s a lot of work being done. It’s a big task.’
She also said fans could see the show go on-air without a live audience, with the BBC also looking into testing participants’ temperatures and installing glass divides inside the studio ‘so that people feel even more protected’.
Strictly distanced: Bosses are considering putting forward drastic measures in a bid to save the show amid the crisis (2019 winners Oti Mabuse and Kelvin Fletcher pictured)
The Strictly set-up has included a live audience since the show first aired back in 2004, when it was fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly.
Insiders previously claimed keeping participants in isolation was not plausible due to family ties.
They told MailOnline: ‘Strictly are looking at options. At this stage, there’s no chance they could isolate as individuals or couples. That would leave any married or parent dancers not seeing their families for up to three months.
Pulling out all the stops: BBC Director of Content Charlotte Moore has revealed producers are still assessing contingency plans (cast pictured on tour in 2019)
‘At the moment, it’s not being considered. No one knows where we’ll be in the world – if the series is a much shorter run, say. The isolation is not something that’s currently on the table.’
Despite the recent claims, Charlotte insisted the option could now be on the table to enable filming goes on without breaching government guidelines.
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We will continue to review all productions on a case by case basis and will continue to follow the latest news and advice from the Foreign Office, World Health Organisation and Public Health England.’
Never done before: Quarantining participants is being considered as options (judges Bruno Tonioli, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas and Craig Revel Horwood pictured)