Strictly Come Dancing has reportedly been hit with a setback in preparations for the new series after a crew member tested positive for coronavirus.
The BBC has already taken extreme safety measures in order to get the show on air this year, including altering the set to enable social distancing, pre-recording all of the group dances and forming household 'bubbles' between the celebrities and their professional partners.
According to The Sun, a crew member who had been working on lighting for the show's set in Elstree tested positive for COVID-19, prompting producers to send home five other crew members who had been in close contact with him.
A deep clean of the set has also been ordered, delaying the filming of the iconic group dances which were due to begin on Monday.
"This crew member would have been in touch with dozens of other workers on set," a source told the newspaper. "They were hours away from starting filming for the pre-recorded professional group dances when they got a call to say that one of the crew members had tested positive when turning up for another job.
"Everything juddered to a halt while worried bosses worked out what to do.
"This is the worst-case scenario for Strictly, as they've gone to extreme lengths to make the show safe up to this point. Starting a show then stopping mid-production is the most expensive thing that could happen, so they're praying it's not more serious than just one person potentially having it.
"He came back positive which meant he had likely been symptomatic prior to the test. After this was discovered the remaining lighting crew were all sent home from site before everyone was told to leave several hours later and a deep clean began."
The lineup for this year's series, which begins in late October, includes boxing champ Nicola Adams, comedian Caroline Quentin, former home secretary Jacqui Smith and Made In Chelsea's Jamie Laing.
Neil Wilkes
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