BBC bosses are reported to have refused the Government's request for Strictly Come Dancing to be moved on Saturday night after Boris Johnson's lockdown announcement kept being pushed back.
The Prime Minister's briefing about a second lockdown was first delayed from 4 to 5pm and then from 5 to 6.45pm, after the BBC had already started a news special to coincide with a 5pm start.
And after its delay forced the cancellation of The Search and uncertainty over exactly when the briefing would happen and how long it would last, Strictly viewers took to Twitter to air their concerns over a potential clash with its 7.10pm start and warning the PM not to ruin their Saturday nights.
The Sun reports that Downing Street officials wanted the lockdown announcement to be pushed back even further to after 7pm but were categorically told that was not an option as Strictly was "a priority."
A source said: "Strictly is a ratings beast for the BBC so they were loath to change the scheduling.
'No one was afraid to have a showdown with them as Strictly is a priority for the channel.
“Boris’s team asked if the press conference could be moved past 7pm but was sternly told that if that was the case, it would be aired on the News Channel."
The fact that the Prime Minister ended up addressing the nation at 6.45pm was seen as a "big win" for the BBC after execs were already annoyed about having to postpone The Search.
Strictly fans were still left annoyed at the weekend after producers scrapped the show's usual Halloween Special, even though the second live show took place on Halloween night.
