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Strictly’s Ranvir Singh says it was ‘touch and go’ whether show would go on air when Boris Johnson delayed speech
STRICTLY star Ranvir Singh says it was "touch and go" over whether the show would go on air when Boris Johnson delayed speech.
The Sun today revealed the BBC point-blank refused to delay Strictly Come Dancing, telling the PM the BBC1 dance show was the “priority”.
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But behind the scenes there was anxious wait for stars who were unsure if they'd be performing live.
The Good Morning Britain presenter told the ITV show today: "I was saying I was willing to do breaking news and then break out into a dance to cheer everyone up.
"But yes it was touch and go actually. They were determined strictly would go on air.
"They definitely felt the nation needed it after what happened."
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Boris made a last-minute plea to address the nation after 7pm on Saturday.
A source said: “Strictly is a ratings beast for the BBC so they were loath to change the scheduling.
"No one was afraid to have a showdown with them as Strictly is a priority for the channel.
“Boris’s team asked if the press conference could be moved past 7pm but was sternly told that if that was the case, it would be aired on the News Channel.
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“His team relented and got on air closer to the scheduled time of 6.30pm.
"It was a win for the BBC as they had already taken Little Mix The Search off air and delaying the juggernaut that is Strictly would have been chaos.”
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