Strictly Come Dancing fans who missed the memo about the launch show being pushed snack from its intended air date were left confused on Saturday, as they expected to be sitting down to a night of ballroom action.
However, instead of seeing Tess Daly and Claudia Winkleman welcome the judges and dancers back for a new series, the BBC dedicated its intended slot to coverage of the Queen’s grandchildren staging a very moving vigil to her in Westminster Hall, where Her Majesty’s body is lying in state.
BBC One fell silent for 20 minutes as the likes of Princes William and Harry and Zara Tindall stood with their heads bowed. The vigil was itself a last minute addition to the schedule and after Sophie Raworth ended coverage from the Hall, the BBC then switched to an episode of The Repair Shop, rather than the advertised Pointless Celebrities.
READ MORE: Strictly launch replacement confirmed by BBC as show postponed
As announced earlier this week, in a nod to the Queen’s Jubilee sketch with the famous bear, Paddington the Movie followed that.
When does Strictly start?
There was an advert in between programmes on Saturday for the new series of Strictly, which confirmed it will be back on Friday, September 23 at 7pm.
First up is the launch show, when viewers will finally find out which celeb is partnered with which pro dancers, before the live shows are set to get going just one night later.
The hasty rejigging of the schedule in the aftermath of the Queen’s passing, means that this is the tightest turn around from launch to live shows in years. The launch was actually recorded on Wednesday, September 7, the day before the Queen died.
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