Strictly Come Dancing producers have snubbed Cheryl from a judges seat on the 2020 competition despite Bruno Tonioli giving his blessing for her to replace him.
The hit BBC dance competition is gearing up to return this autumn – with reduced episodes and strict safety measures in place amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
However, regular judge Bruno, 64, has thrown a spanner in the works as he is also a judge on Dancing With The Stars – the American version of Strictly.
Concerns have been raised over Bruno jetting between the UK and USA as he normally would while the deadly COVID-19 virus outbreak continues to threaten the global airline industry.
It has been suggested the judge may opt to relocate to California to judge the USA version of the dance contest – abandoning the 2020 series of Strictly as a consequence.
Last week, Bruno gave his blessing for Girls Aloud star Cheryl, 36, to replace him to judge alongside regular judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Craig Revel Horwood.
But a show source has told The Sun that Cheryl’s inclusion is unlikely, revealing: “As things stand, Bruno won’t be replaced and they’ll switch to three judges.
“The BBC hope the rules on flying will be relaxed by the autumn which means Bruno should be able to take part.
"They don’t want to go through a long process of replacing him when he could have done it anyway so it’s very doubtful Cheryl will be there, not as a judge anyway.”
On Thursday, Bruno backed Cheryl to replace him on the judging panel.
He said: "If Cheryl does end up doing it there would be nothing wrong with that. She's a lovely girl. I like her.
“Of course she's not me, but we're all different. We all have different things to offer but I've heard nothing concrete."
If the BBC opt to use three judges instead of four it would be the first time a reduced panel have been used in the 16 year history of the show.
