Strictly bosses may AXE the live studio audience for 2020 to adhere with social distancing

Strictly Come Dancing may go ahead this autumn without its usual studio audience cheering on the performers.

The news comes as film and TV productions across the world continue to hold crisis talks on how to handle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which sees social distancing rumble on.

The Sun reports that the BBC’s director of content Charlotte Moore has said during a virtual production meeting that Strictly ‘doesn’t necessarily need an audience’.

Comparing it to RuPaul’s Drag Race, she said: ‘People think if it is a shiny floor it needs an audience and I don’t think that’s necessarily true.

‘When you look at something like Drag Race which is a big shiny floor talent competition with all sorts of catwalks, singing, dancing, impressions – it never has an audience.

‘The audience is the four judges and I don’t think it suffers from that at all. I think it is a brilliant show. I think inevitably things are going to change!’

The Strictly set-up has included a live audience since the show first aired back in 2004, when it was fronted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly. Bruce retired from the show and Claudia Winkleman took over in 2014.

The audience is normally filled with members of the public and the family and friends of the contestants, often drawing in celebrities to watch.

The likes of Mary Berry, Nicole Scherzinger, Cheryl and Jamie Laing have been seen watching the live shows.

As the results show is shot at the same time as the live show – but held off from broadcast until Sunday nights – those in the audience are sworn to secrecy, so that the names of the axed contestants aren’t leaked. No audience means this will not be an issue.

Despite fears for autumn mainstays such as Strictly and I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, reports from behind-the-scenes suggest producers are still working to make sure the fan favourites will broadcast as usual.

Pro dancer Anton Du Beke recently said on The Steph Show: ‘They’re carrying on with it for now, the whole pre-production will be going on as normal.’

However, another issue that is said to be worrying bosses is the threat that some professional dancers could be locked out of Britain amid the coronavirus pandemic.

It’s said that producers of the BBC dance show are worried that dancers living outside the UK, including Nadiya Bychkova, 30, who lives in Slovenia and South African Johannes Radebe, 32, may not be able to come come back in time once lockdown is over.

According to The Sun, Strictly are drawing up a list of British professional dancers should the pros living abroad have trouble returning by the time rehearsals recommence in July.  

A source told the publication: ‘Strictly has been faced with so many issues because of the pandemic but this is one of the more pressing.

‘Having so many popular stars worried about getting back into the country and others panicking about whether their visas will be held up is causing headaches.

‘Dancers like Nancy Xu, who comes from China, are having to wait to find out whether delays caused by the virus will cause issues with their visas.’

The source went on to say that dancers including Johannes, Nadiya and Sicilian Graziano Di Prima, 25, are ‘on standby’ as they wait to see whether flights will resume.

They added that in the meantime, bosses have drafted up a list of British dancers who could help with the ‘early stages’ of training should it be deemed necessary. 

MailOnline have contacted representatives of Strictly Come Dancing for comment.

Meanwhile, the show’s professional dancers are reportedly fighting for a pay rise from the show after their extra income earned from tours is lost amid the COVID-19 crisis.

As previously reported in The Sun, the salary of the pro-dancers is £50,000 no matter how long they have been on the show, with the judges earning between £150,000 and £250,000.

A source told the publication: ‘The pros feel they are struggling now that the tours have all had to be cancelled. They feel they deserve more considering how much work they put in for six months of the year, and often the days can be really long and arduous. 

‘The BBC keeps control of other business deals they do outside of the show and they are limited to the job offers they can accept.

‘The dancers hope that if they join together and put a case forward, the producers will appreciate their worth as many are stars in their own right now, with big fan followings.’

The BBC declined to comment when approached by MailOnline.

It comes after it was reported that Strictly Come Dancing could be postponed until next year and broadcast without an audience over social distancing fears. 

The Mail on Sunday revealed that BBC executives have held several crisis meetings over how they will attract a high standard of celebrity contestants, given that social distancing rules look set to remain for months. 

It is also likely the show could go ahead without its lively studio audience that adds enormously to the high-energy spectacle.

As well as filming without a studio audience, it has also been suggested that contestants would be quarantined in a house together for its duration.

Strictly sources say it is becoming increasingly difficult to attract stars with families to consider joining the show when it could mean they have to live away for a prolonged period to avoid spreading Covid-19.

And with the so-called Curse of Strictly – blamed for causing relationship break-ups among contestants – becoming a consideration for married celebrities, many are believed to be turning down the opportunity to appear.

One source said: ‘This is a logistical nightmare.

‘There have been many, many contingency meetings about what is going to happen.

‘The hope is that the scheduling will remain the same but people have been warned that postponing until early next year is a distinct possibility. The main priority for the BBC is that everyone is kept safe. It is a massive show but what’s more important right now is protecting lives.’