Strictly Come Dancing confirms 2020 series will go ahead with shorter run

Changes have had to be made on account of the coronavirus pandemic, and as a result, the glitziest show on television will be made shorter.

A spokesperson for the show said: "The Strictly Come Dancing team are doing everything they can to bring the nation plenty of Strictly magic later this year.

"To ensure we deliver the high standards audiences know and love, and in light of the ongoing considerations around COVID-19, this year’s series of Strictly will have a slightly shorter run than usual.

"The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us and further updates will be made in due course."

RadioTimes.com understands there could be a smaller amount of celebrities in the line-up, but this will depend on how long we end up waiting for the series and nothing has been set in stone just yet.

Last week, the BBC confirmed the Strictly Come Dancing professionals would be "rehearsing remotely" from the end of July.

In order to film group dances, the pro team would have to form their own "bubble", meaning they would have to isolate together to remove the risk of infection transmission.

Once they had been together for 14 days, it would be considered safe to go ahead and record the group dances which add extra sparkle to proceedings each year.

RadioTimes.com understands the pros would then have to form a safe bubble with their celebrity partners before rehearsals - and the main series - could get underway.

Unfortunately, it all takes time and this would mean the start date - which traditionally falls at the end of September - would be impossible to make.

What this would mean, however, is that no dances would be off the table - from a Rumba to a Jive, the celebrity and their professional partner could perform any routine safely, and we'd get the same Strictly we know and love.

Strictly Come Dancing will return later this year to BBC One. If you're looking for more to watch, check out our TV Guide.