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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
Entertainment
Victoria Johns

Strictly Come Dancing's launch may not go ahead next weekend following Queen's death

Fans wanting to know if Strictly Come Dancing's launch show will go ahead next weekend will have to wait a little longer.

The BBC has made several changes to its schedule following the death of the Queen on Thursday.

A number of shows have been pulled and now there's said to be a "50/50" chance as to whether Strictly will air on September 17.

TV Zone's Twitter page said today: "For everybody asking: It's still 50/50 as to whether #Strictly will air next weekend. The question the BBC will be weighing up is whether it's appropriate to air it on the bank holiday weekend of the funeral and period of national mourning.

"Two most likely scenarios if the launch show does NOT air next weekend: a) Launch show airs on Sat 24th Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 1st Oct (series will be a week shorter than planned). b) Launch shows airs on Fri 23rd Sept. Live shows begin on Sat 24th Sept as planned."

The BBC has said it's only confirming schedules for today and tomorrow.

However, with the Queen's funeral due to take place on September 19, many fans think Strictly's launch is looking unlikely for next weekend.

One tweeted: “Strictly doesn't start airing live until the 24th, but next Saturday's launch episode will definitely be cancelled."

Another said: "It's possible they could instead air the launch episode on the Friday night (23rd) before the first live show the following evening.”

While a third commented: “More likely they'll just delay the first episode by a week, then the celebs will all compete properly the week after that.”

The pre-recorded Strictly Come Dancing launch episode, which sees the celebrity stars matched up with their professional dancing partners, was set to air on Saturday, September 17.

However, the UK has entered a national period of mourning stretching for 17 days, after Her Majesty's death at the age of 96.

Several broadcasters have switched up their schedules since the sad news - with the BBC pulling several shows and moving others to a different channel.

The broadcaster has been airing national and regional news programmes between shows including Picturing Elizabeth: Her Life In Images, Elizabeth: The Unseen Queen, and When The Queen Spoke To The Nation.

A special edition of The One Show: Our Queen Remembered, aired last night.

Tonight BBC One will see special editions of Songs Of Praise, Countryfile, and Antiques Roadshow.

But normal programming will resume at 8pm with the first episode of Frozen Planet II.

This weekend, the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror celebrate the life of Her Majesty the Queen with a commemorative special filled with all the key moments from Britain’s longest reigning monarch. Be sure to pick up your copy of the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror to get both pullouts.

You can leave your tributes to Queen Elizabeth II here

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