Anton Du Beke addresses reports of unvaccinated dancers on 'Strictly'

Watch: Anton Du Beke discusses Strictly's Covid conversation

Anton Du Beke has insisted that everyone on Strictly is being “very, very careful”, amid rumours that some of the show’s professional dancers have refused to get the COVID vaccination.

It has been reported that two, possibly three, of the pro dancers on the ballroom show have not had their jabs but the BBC has not confirmed this, saying they do not comment on speculation about people’s vaccination status.

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, Du Beke said while he didn’t know much about the vaccine situation, he did know that the show is taking a lot of steps to keep everyone safe.

The star – who was a dancer on the programme but is filling in for Bruno Tonioli as a judge this year – said: “I do know this, if it’s anything like last year, everybody is tested every week anyway, everybody is bubbling and everyone is keeping distance and everyone is wearing face masks in the studio so the whole thing is geared up as though we are in the sort of grip of the whole thing.

Read more: Gorka Marquez addresses Strictly vaccine reports

“I know everything is loosened, all the rules and regulations have loosened around the country, but I know that Strictly Come Dancing, because it’s a live show and we don’t want any nasty incidences, I know they are treating it as though we are sort of in the grip of the pandemic.”

“It’s all taken very seriously and everyone is doing exactly what they should,” he added.

Hosts Kate Garraway and Ben Shephard referred to last year’s series, where Nicola Adams and Katya Jones had to withdraw from the competition after Jones tested positive for the coronavirus.

Du Beke said fortunately that was an isolated situation.

Read more: James Jordan: Unvaccinated dancers don't deserve to be on Strictly

“The worry of course, is that if you get something that spreads through the group, well that’s the end of the show," he said.

“And nobody wants that, everyone has worked too hard for this and everybody wants the show to work, the viewers and everybody involved in the show.

“So as I say, they are all taking it really seriously and they are all treating it as I said before, as though we are in the middle of the pandemic, so everyone is doing exactly what they should be and being very, very careful.”

Watch: Who's judging this year's Strictly?