Craig Revel Horwood: New rules won't fire up 'Strictly' curse

Craig Revel Horwood has quelled speculation that Strictly Come Dancing’s coronavirus rules will ignite the show’s famous ‘curse’.

Over the years several contestants have ended up having relationships with their show partners, leading to the term “Strictly curse”.

And with the show thought to be employing new rules amid the current pandemic – with reports the stars could be isolating somewhere for weeks before the series starts – some fans have wondered whether there might be more sparks than ever this year.

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However, according to reports, judge Revel Horwood addressed the issue in an interview and said the couplings were unlikely to be extra “intense”.

“Ha ha, sadly not,” he apparently told Best magazine.

“As they won’t be living with each other. The rule is the dancer can go back to their home, and the celeb to either their home or a hotel.”

The Strictly curse has struck several times.

The 2018 winners Stacey Dooley and Kevin Clifton began dating after meeting on the BBC show.

Dooley’s ex-boyfriend Sam Tucknott gave an angry interview about how he’d been treated, but the pair have said there was no cheating and that the relationship was already over by the time they got together.

There was more drama that year when dancer Katya Jones was photographed kissing her celebrity partner Seann Walsh.

Katya later split from her husband Neil Jones although they have indicated that the well-publicised kiss was not the cause of their break up.

Read more: Shirley Ballas reassures fans she'll 'be fine' for Strictly after breaking ankle

It was a less controversial romance for Gemma Atkinson and Gorka Marquez, who were both single when they met on the 2017 series. The pair have since welcomed their first child together.

This year’s series of Strictly had been hanging in the balance for some time amid the pandemic, but earlier this summer bosses confirmed it would go ahead but that it would be a slightly shorter series than usual.

A spokesperson shared in a statement in June: "The Strictly Come Dancing team are doing everything they can to bring the nation plenty of Strictly magic later this year.

"To ensure we deliver the high standards audiences know and love, and in light of the ongoing considerations around COVID-19, this year’s series of Strictly will have a slightly shorter run than usual.

"The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us and further updates will be made in due course."