SEE ALSO: Anton Du Beke Speaks Out On Strictly Come Dancing Judging Role
Anton Du Beke will be stepping up to the Strictly Come Dancing judging panel this weekend, it has been confirmed.
The professional dancer will become a judge for the first time, after it was revealed Motsi Mabuse will miss two weeks of the live shows as she is self-isolating.
The news was confirmed in a tweet from the show’s official Twitter account on Friday.
“We are pleased to announce that the King Of Ballroom Anton Du Beke is stepping into our judging panel this weekend,” the statement read.
It followed the news that Motsi will only be able to appear on the show via video-link this weekend, as she needed to make an urgent trip to Germany earlier in the week.
She explained: “Earlier this week I needed to travel to Germany for an urgent reason. I will of course be following the UK government guidelines and self-isolating for 14 days.
“I’ll be watching from home and by the power of technology, should be in your living rooms.”
Anton and his celebrity partner Jacqui Smith were the first couple to be voted off this year’s series last month.
The dancer, who has been a professional on Strictly since its inception in 2004, previously made a play for a role on the judging panel in 2017, when he was in the running to replace head judge Len Goodman.
However, Shirley Ballas was later announced as Len’s replacement.
This year’s Strictly Come Dancing has been hit by a number of complications due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On Thursday, it was announced that Nicola Adams had been forced to leave the competition, after her partner Katya Jones tested positive for Covid-19.
Regular Strictly judge Bruno Tonioli is also missing from the series this year due to travel restrictions, as he’s currently also a judge on the US version of the show.
It Takes Two presenter Rylan Clark-Neal has also been forced into self-isolation after coming into contact with someone who has the virus outside of work, meaning he will miss two weeks of hosting the spin-off show.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturday at 7.10pm on BBC One.
