The launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2022 may be delayed.
Following the death of Queen Elizabeth II last week the BBC has been amending its programming schedule on a daily basis to make room for news coverage of the nation's loss. A number of shows have been pulled or changed times.
Now there's said to be a "50/50" chance as to whether Strictly will air on September 17. The BBC has said it's only confirming schedules for today.
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According to The Mirror, TV Zone's Twitter page said today: "For everybody asking: It's still 50/50 as to whether #Strictly will air next weekend. The question the BBC will be weighing up is whether it's appropriate to air it on the bank holiday weekend of the funeral and period of national mourning.
"Two most likely scenarios if the launch show does NOT air next weekend: a) Launch show airs on Sat 24th Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 1st Oct (series will be a week shorter than planned). b) Launch shows airs on Fri 23rd Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 24th Sept as planned."
However, with the Queen's funeral due to take place on September 19, many fans think Strictly's launch is looking unlikely for next weekend. One tweeted: “Strictly doesn't start airing live until the 24th, but next Saturday's launch episode will definitely be cancelled."
Another said: "It's possible they could instead air the launch episode on the Friday night (23rd) before the first live show the following evening.” While a third commented: “More likely they'll just delay the first episode by a week, then the celebs will all compete properly the week after that.”
The pre-recorded Strictly Come Dancing launch episode, which sees the celebrity stars matched up with their professional dancing partners, was set to air on Saturday, September 17. However, the UK has entered a national period of mourning stretching for 17 days, after Her Majesty's death at the age of 96.
Several broadcasters have switched up their schedules since the sad news - with the BBC pulling several shows and moving others to a different channel. The broadcaster has been airing national and regional news programmes between shows including Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life In Images, Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, and When The Queen Spoke To The Nation.
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