Craig Revel Horwood says Strictly is so Covid-19 secure it feels like he’s in jail.
He rubbished claims it is in chaos after pro Katya Jones tested positive for the virus and was axed with dance partner Nicola Adams.
The show judge joked that there are so many coronavirus checks backstage it is like facing prison security.
And he compared his dressing room to being “locked in a cell”.
But he wore further PPE blue gloves to last night’s show after telling the Sunday Mirror: “I’m being extra, extra cautious.”
He spoke as fellow judge Motsi Mabuse, 39, and co-host Rylan Clark-Neal, 32, self-isolate as Covid precautions.
Craig, 55, said: “We have had our own judges’ bubble
and now Anton Du Beke has come in for Motsi. I’m dripping in PPE and keeping more than two metres apart.”
Dancer Katya, 31, was said to have been living alone so she could form a secure bubble with boxer Nicola, 38, and partner Ella Baig – and does not know where she picked up the virus.
Strictly sources say show bosses have not increased the frequency of its Covid testing, believed to be weekly, despite the scare.
Craig said: “It’s so secure backstage that I can’t see Katya could have picked this up here. It’s almost like prison with the checks.
“We’re temperature-checked at the gate before a bar lifts to let the car in.
“By the next section you’ve gone through at least three stations where you have to clean your hands, wear a mask, put a visor on. And I’m locked in my cell until I’m called to stage.”
