With various TV productions on halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, several Strictly Come Dancing fans have been left wondering whether the popular BBC series will return later this year. Speaking to BBC Essex, the BBC's Controller of Programming Dan McGolpin confessed that show bosses remain hopeful that the series will come back without a hitch. "It wouldn't be the same if we didn't have Strictly in the autumn, would it?" he said on the weekend. "So, no of course, the BBC is doing everything it can, and I know that everyone involved in that production team would absolutely love that to happen this autumn."
© Photo: Getty ImagesStrictly Come Dancing is expected to return this year
Although the professional dancers have already been confirmed, the celebrity line-up is due to be announced this summer with the launch happening in autumn. "We've really just got to keep watching the government advice," he added. "Thinking about what's possible. And if there's any way of bringing Strictly back this autumn, then we absolutely will. That's very much our intentions, so yeah fingers crossed."
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Over the past month, a number of BBC and ITV shows have been suspended in a bid to keep the cast and crew safe. Strictly professional Anton du Beke also recently reassured fans that the series will return this autumn. "They're carrying on with it for now, because you know what telly is like, you can do pre-production from home really, you don't have to be in an office to do it," he said on the The Steph Show last week. "Everyone does everything online anyways, so the whole pre-production of it, I should think, will be going on as normal."
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He continued to explain: "It's when we get in the studio... the pros get in the studio in August so hopefully... we will be out of it by then and then we can sort of all get back into the studio. If not, I don't know. The actual live stuff doesn't start until September, so we are all really hoping we are out of it by then, and back to some sort of normality. And I think everybody will be ready for a little bit of Strictly Come Dancing by that time."
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