Strictly Come Dancing 'to ban celebrity entourages'

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 2mo

Strictly Come Dancing contestants will reportedly be unable to bring along multiple guests to this year's show.

Celebrities competing on this year's series of Strictly Come Dancing will reportedly be forbidden from having extensive guest lists.

The BBC is working hard to get the ballroom contest on air as usual this autumn, although the production is having to undergo a significant reworking in order to comply with safety guidelines as a result of the coronavirus outbreak.

The show's contestants, dancers and judges normally have an allocation of audience tickets to allow friends and family to attend recordings, but according to The Sun, the number of people allowed into the studio this year is to be kept to a minimum.

"Strictly's the biggest show on TV so it's like a party every Saturday night when the show is on," a source told the newspaper. "Guests of judges Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Bruno Tonioli are usually invited to enjoy drinks before watching the show. The celebs and some of the dancers will often have guests too.

"It means the studios are always jam packed. But because of the ongoing pandemic, it's going to have to stop. This year guests are being kept to an absolute minimum. There will be no entourages or endless guests anymore. Even the glam squads are getting the boot."

The report also indicates that the show will still have a live studio audience to some extent, despite previous suggestions that the audience could be scrapped entirely.