Kelvin Fletcher is set to take the dance floor with Oti Mabuse when the series launches on Saturday night, but they “can’t get anywhere near as close as they are used to” due to social distancing rules
Stictly Come Dancing is launching on the weekend.
And to get the 2020 series off to a great start, 2019 champion Kelvin Fletcher is set to take the dance floor with Oti Mabuse.
However, the pair will not be dancing up close and personal as the former winners will perform a socially distanced routine, according to an insider.
The professional dancer and former soap sensation must keep two metres apart as Oti is partnered up with another celeb for the new competition.
If Oti or Kelvin have Covid-19 and pass it to one another by not adhering to social distancing measures, the other new star could catch the infectious bug.
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Kelvin Fletcher is set to take the dance floor with Oti Mabuse on the 2020 launch show for Strictly Come Dancing(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
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It is understood that like all the couples on the new series, both Kelvin and Oti have been isolating alone in their own bubbles ahead of the show filming.
A source told The Sun : “Kelvin and Oti can’t get anywhere near as close as they are used to because of the danger of infection, which would throw a huge spanner in the works.
“But viewers will be intrigued to see how it will work.”
The former winners will perform a socially-distanced routine(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
Strictly’s Motsi Mabuse says she’ll quit show if it ever stops being fun
The insider shared that the Strictly prop and set team have “all sorts of tricks” to give the illusion that they are closer – such as “using a Perspex screen between the dancers.”
It comes after Strictly: It Takes Two host Rylan Clark-Neal has said the BBC show will have to be scrapped this year if tighter restrictions do come into place.
He told the MailOnline : “If Strictly can’t go ahead for whatever reason, of course it won’t.
The duo are reigning champions(Image: BBC/Guy Levy)
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“The main thing that Strictly and the BBC have said since day one is, if we can’t do it properly and safely, it’s not going to be done.
“As far as I know at the moment, it’s all still going ahead and we are really looking forward to it.”
Among the big names this year include Olympian Nicola Adams, who will make history as part of the first same sex pair to dance on the show, former Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, EastEnders star Maisie Smith, Made in Chelsea’s Jamie Laing and comedians Caroline Quentin and Bill Bailey.
* Strictly Come Dancing launches on BBC One on October 17
