Strictly Come Dancing Christmas special 'axed amid pandemic'

\'Strictly Come Dancing\'s Christmas special has reportedly been axed as it\'s too hard to film amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The annual BBC show has been one of the broadcaster\'s flagship festive shows for years, but TV bosses have been forced to scrap the plan this year due to the health crisis.

A source told the Daily Star Sunday newspaper: "Usually, filming the Christmas special only takes a few days.

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"But to do it under the current guidelines would mean quarantining celebs for two weeks beforehand. It\'s just not worth it for one episode.

"It wasn\'t an easy decision, but producers didn\'t feel like they had any choice.

"The celebrities who were due to take part are devastated. They were thrilled to have the chance to return to \'Strictly\'. But they\'ve been told they won\'t miss out because they\'ll get to come back in 2021."

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Meanwhile, Natalie Lowe recently revealed she wants former \'Strictly Come Dancing\' professionals to replace Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel.

The ballroom dancer appeared on the hit show between 2009 and 2016, and she would love to be invited back if the 64-year-old judge is stuck in America during filming.

She recently said: "I\'d love to see ex-professionals sit in that fourth chair every week. I love \'Strictly\', I love everything about dance."

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Natalie believes the former pros would make the best judges, as they\'ve been in the same spot as the contestants and would be able to give "constructive criticism".

She said: "I think it is really a good positive thing if you can relate to the celebrity that\'s going through each week.

"We\'ve been there, we can support. You can be compassionate, you can be encouraging but give constructive criticism. That\'s how I would be as a judge if I was asked to be on it. I would love to."