The excitement for Strictly Come Dancing is certainly hotting up thanks to the full celebrity line-up being announced last week. From Olympic champions to actors and popstars, the star-studded guest list for this year's competition did not disappoint.
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WATCH: The complete Strictly 2020 line up
Although the magic and sparkle of Strictly will undoubtedly return along with the series, the upcoming competition is set to be very different to previous years – including some of the professional dancers potentially missing out on taking to the dancefloor with a celebrity partner.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Strictly pros
In previous years, the line-up has consisted of 15 celebrities all hoping to impress the judges and audiences at home to become reigning champion and lift the iconic glitterball trophy.
However, due to the series running for just eight weeks this year, the number of celebrity contestants has reduced to 12 – meaning some professional dancers may miss out on the opportunity to take to the floor. While a small handful of the pros join the family purely for the group numbers, there have usually been 15 professionals paired with a celebrity until now.
The professional dancer line up for this upcoming show was announced earlier in the year, and consists of all the favourite names including 2019 champion Oti Mabuse, Karen Hauer, Johannes Radebe and of course the other 16 beloved dancers. Who will be lucky enough to be paired with a partner? We'll have to wait and see!
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe celebrity and pro pairings are yet to be announced
There will be, however, a couple of familiar faces missing from Strictly 2020 for others reasons. Kevin Clifton, who was on the show for almost seven years, left the show to pursue his theatre work earlier this year.
At a similar time, AJ Pritchard, who joined the Strictly family in 2016, also left the show to explore other TV work. Meanwhile, the start of series 18 has been recently thrown into disarray after it was reported that a crew member on the show had been tested positive for coronavirus.
However, while the BBC has declined to comment on the situation, HELLO! understands that the crew member in question has since been tested negative in an official NHS test result after testing positive on a different production during a quick turnaround test. Since NHS' tests are more reliable and the correct procedures were followed, it is understood that there has been no impact on the show.
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