Strictly Come Dancing plans to be full 13 show series this year, head judge Shirley Ballas reveals
IT went some way to cheering up the nation after whatever Covid bombshell Boris had just dropped. But last year’s Strictly Come Dancing series certainly lost some of its sparkle after being cut short by a whole month due to the pandemic. However, there is good news for fans who want the 2021 celebs to […]
IT went some way to cheering up the nation after whatever Covid bombshell Boris had just dropped.
But last year’s Strictly Come Dancing series certainly lost some of its sparkle after being cut short by a whole month due to the pandemic.
However, there is good news for fans who want the 2021 celebs to “keep dancing” for longer.
The show’s head judge Shirley Ballas has revealed that BBC bosses are planning a full-length series this time round after establishing how to film the show safely.
She told a fan on celeb messaging app Cameo: “Just a little something: I heard they’re trying to do all 13 episodes this year.
“Last time we had nine. We’re trying to get 13 shows on. I think they’re getting used to the Covid thing.”
A TV insider said: “That Strictly was able to go ahead at all last year, given that it’s not exactly easy to pull off a dance routine two metres apart, is a testament to the production team.
“In 2020, concessions had to be made to get the green light. Now the team know they can put on a series in a time of Covid, and they have more time to plan, they’re determined to avoid compromising the show.”
Strictly bosses had to cut four weeks after being forced to push the show back from its traditional September start to the following month as they grappled with Covid guidelines.
The winner Bill Bailey, EastEnders star Maisie Smith and the other celebrity contestants bubbled up with their professional dance partners.
The set was also redesigned to allow a small audience watch from socially distanced cabaret tables and judges Shirley, Craig Revel Horwood and Motsi Mabuse each had an individual desk.
Fellow judge Bruno Tonioli had to miss the series as he was unable to travel to and from America — where he is also on the panel of the US version — and the special from Blackpool also had to be axed.
While boxer Nicola Adams was forced to withdraw after her pro partner Katya Jones tested positive for Covid.
I’m glad to hear that Strictly bosses are being proactive about giving us as much dancefloor action as possible this year.
As they say in showbiz, the show must go on . . . and on and on and on.
Sin star: 80s were so cruel
The story of It’s A Sin is all too real for many people, including one of its stars, Tracy-Ann Oberman.
She has told how the parents of a gay friend burned their sheets and buried their cutlery amid fears about Aids.
Tracy, who plays showbiz agent Carol Carter in the Channel 4 drama about the HIV epidemic in the Eighties, said: “We had one friend that came to stay, who was openly gay, at a friend’s house.
“We caught the parents burning all the sheets and burying the cutlery in the garden after he left because they were so frightened.”
She told the White Wine Question Time podcast: “There was so much cruelty around it.
“The psychology was, ‘A plague has come along that is dirty and dangerous’ and it tapped into everybody’s shame and fear of their own sexuality.
“I remember the absolute stigma of being gay.”
Fired lion spilling secrets
One of The Apprentice’s most controversial stars, Lottie Lion, is at it again and spilling secrets from the BBC show.
She claims bosses censored her letters from home while she was in the famous house.
The 2019 candidate also says the receptionist is an actor, boardroom scenes were filmed in a studio on the outskirts of London and contestants are chaperoned everywhere, including the toilet, to stop them from seeing the news.
Fired Lottie said: “You live in the house the entire time, you’re not allowed to leave. No phones or technology and one phone call a week for five minutes with someone who has signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement.
“My nana used to write me letters and the BBC would black out large sections with factual info.”
Last time I reported on one of Lottie’s TikTok videos, she accused me of “twisting her words”.
Unfortunately for Lottie, seeing your words written down can be a scary experience, particularly for someone who speaks before they think.
Warwick pics still tenable
To anyone under the age of 20, Warwick Davis is the host of ITV gameshow Tenable, but for older generations he’s also a movie star you want a selfie with.
The star of cult classics including Willow, Star Wars and Harry Potter films insists social distancing has made that trickier.
Warwick said: “You’ll meet somebody who will say, ‘You’re my hero, can we have a picture?’ And then I have to say, ‘Stay over there please’.
“I’ll stand two metres behind and do the picture. And they want to shake hands and hug.
“I feel for people – in their lifetime, it’s not going to happen again. They get very, very excited to see me, which I still find surprising.”
Unforgotten returns
THE long-awaited fourth series of crime drama Unforgotten will return on February 22.
The six-part series, on ITV at 9pm, sees Nicola Walker and Sanjeev Bhaskar resume their roles as cold case detectives opposite guest star Sheila Hancock.
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Taking a stand
Here’s the full line-up of comics and their celebrity protegees starring in Channel 4’s Stand Up and Deliver.
Airing on February 25 at 9pm and in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, five seasoned comedians train wannabes in their art.
David Baddiel teaches Rev Richard Coles, Jason Manford educates Shaun Ryder, Nick Helm assists Baroness Warsi, Judi Love nurtures Curtis Pritchard and Zoe Lyons mentors Katie McGlynn.
Beeb's terror
THE BBC has bought the star-studded horror series The Terror, which is based on Captain Sir John Franklin’s lost expedition to the Arctic with the Royal Navy.
The treacherous 1845 voyage was a doomed bid to discover the Northwest Passage around Canada in perilous conditions.
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