Strictly Come Dancing 2022 postponed after Queen's death

The start of Strictly Come Dancing 2022 has been postponed ahead of the Queen's funeral

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 postponed
(Image credit: BBC Pictures)

Strictly Come Dancing 2022’s start date has been postponed following the Queen's death. 

The BBC has confirmed that Strictly Come Dancing 2022’s start date has been pushed back. 

The iconic dancing competition was scheduled to kick off on Saturday 17th September, with its lineup of Strictly celebs having already been announced. 

However, channels including the BBC, ITV and Channel 4 are all experiencing changes to their scheduled programming as they prioritise news coverage of the official mourning period for the Queen, ahead of her funeral on Monday 19th September. 

The BBC has also announced that it will be airing the first Paddington film on Saturday 17th, in honour of Her Majesty, with Paddington 2 airing on Monday evening following the funeral.

Thankfully for Strictly fans, the show isn’t facing huge delays and will return with two episodes the following weekend. The first pre-recorded installment is now scheduled for Friday the 23rd of September, with the first live show of the 20th series airing on the following day (the 24th).

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The exciting lineup includes famous names like Ted Lasso’s Ellie Taylor, Countryfile's Helen Skelton, Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds and former England football team captain Tony Adams. Plus four new dancing pros; Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas

Fans will also see some familiar faces returning to the show, with the likes of Katya Jones, Giovanni Pernice and Nadiya Bychkova. Plus judges Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas and former Strictly pro, Anton Du Beke.

Sadly this year saw both Oti Mabuse and Aljaž Škorjanec announce their exit from the show.

Despite the delay, fans can still expect the show to run for at least 13 weeks (if Strictly 2021 is anything to go by) before one lucky celeb lifts the Glitterball trophy.

Strictly Come Dancing will return at 7pm, Friday 24th September 2022.

Naomi Jamieson
Lifestyle News Writer

Naomi is a Lifestyle News Writer with the Lifestyle team and has recently earned her Gold Standard Diploma in Journalism from the NCTJ. She has a background in design, having studied Illustration at Plymouth University but has taken a leap into the world of journalism after always having a passion for writing. She currently writes pieces on beauty, fashion, and entertainment for Goodto.com and My Imperfect Life.