Strictly Come Dancing will give up its usual Saturday primetime slot on December’s Musicals Week in order to make room for a World Cup game, the BBC has confirmed.
The regular themed edition of the celebrity dance competition is a favourite of fans, seeing contestants perform routines choreographed to popular showtunes.
However, now that one of the ‘Round of 16’ World Cup matches has been pencilled in for 7pm (GMT) on Saturday 3rd December, the special episode has been moved to Friday.
Strictly Come Dancing‘s Musicals Week will be broadcast live on BBC One at 8pm on Friday 2nd December, but the week’s results show is yet to find a spot on the schedules. We’ll bring you that update as soon as it is confirmed.
After last weekend’s performances, current favourites to lift Strictly’s iconic Glitterball trophy include Hamza Yassin, Helen Skelton and Will Mellor, while people’s champ Tony Adams has bowed out of the contest due to injury.
While fans of the long-running BBC competition series are on the edge of their seats as it nears its final weeks, conversation is likely to be dominated by football as the World Cup kicks off.
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Though host country Qatar has been criticised for its human rights record, including treatment of LGBTQ+ people, it is still likely to draw in huge viewership as England fans hope for a performance on par with the exhilarating Euro 2020.
Strictly has never had to worry about clashing with the World Cup before as the tournament usually takes place in the summer, but was moved to winter in this instance due to the particularly hot weather conditions in Qatar.
The World Cup final will take place on Sunday 18th December at 3pm (GMT), although it remains to be seen which two countries will be left to battle for that most coveted of trophies.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 19th November at 7:45pm on BBC One. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage, and visit our TV Guide or Streaming Guide to find out what to watch.
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