Rylan Clark-Neal on Strictly Come Dancing’s COVID changes: "It’s the Strictly everyone knows and loves"

The presenter, who is set to return as a co-host of Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two, said that although there would be changes as a result of the COVID pandemic, some things would be the same as ever.

Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Rylan said, "I’m not the official spokesperson for Strictly or anything, but all I know is it’s the biggest show on TV, it’s the BBC’s diamond, it’s their number one show.

"There is no way Strictly would go on air if it couldn’t be the Strictly everyone loves. It would be a million times better and easier to go, we’re not doing it this year, let’s wait, because there’s no point doing something that people love and they’ve known so well."

He added, "So yeah, I’m 100% confident it wouldn’t be going out if it wasn’t the Strictly everyone knows and loves.

"Time frames might be slightly different, it might be a little bit shorter, we’re not too sure yet, it might look slightly different - we still don’t know about audiences yet – but from doing (Supermarket) Sweep without an audience, I know it’s not really affected things as much as I thought it would."

With not long to go until the new series kicks off, the rumour mill regarding which celebrities might take part this year is going into overdrive - but Rylan said he was not in a position to divulge any information.

"I’d have to kill you in your sleep!" he said. "At this sort of time of the year, we do get the little 'oh have you heard?'. But yeah, I’ve had plenty of practice from Big Brother with the celebrity housemates keeping things a secret!"

Strictly Come Dancing will air on BBC One later this year - if you’re looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.