It’s all going to kick off! BBC fears over Strictly clashing with Qatar World Cup as football tournament is moved to winter months due to 113F heat
- Matches will kick off at 6pm or 7pm UK time on three Saturdays and two Sundays
- The tournament normally takes place in summer but has been moved to winter
- Strictly fans are notoriously unforgiving about changes to the show’s scheduling
- Latest Strictly Come Dancing 2021 news on Series 30 judges, dancers and contestants here
BBC chiefs are facing a scheduling nightmare because this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series will clash with the World Cup in Qatar.
The football tournament normally takes place in the summer but has this year been moved to November and December to avoid teams having to play in 45C (113F) heat.
Matches – which may well include England games – will kick off at 6pm or 7pm UK time on three consecutive Saturdays and two Sundays, threatening to wreak havoc with the BBC’s biggest entertainment format.
BBC chiefs are facing a scheduling nightmare because this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series will clash with the World Cup in Qatar (FIFA President Sepp Blatter pictured)
Fans of Strictly, which will be celebrating its 20th series this winter, are notoriously unforgiving about changes to the show’s scheduling, even if it is only by a few minutes, leaving Corporation bosses with a dilemma.
Executives are pondering how, and even if, they can change the timings, or even temporarily alter the day on which it airs.
The situation is further complicated by the contractual requirement for the Corporation to air matches on its flagship BBC1 channel, which also broadcasts Strictly’s live Saturday night shows and Sunday’s results programmes.
‘This is something the BBC have never had to worry about before because the World Cup has been played in the summer months,’ said a source.
Fans of Strictly, which will be celebrating its 20th series this winter, are notoriously unforgiving about changes to the show’s scheduling (2020 winners Bill Bailey and Oti Mabuse pictured)
‘This is new for them and they are acutely aware of how Strictly fans do not like their show being moved. They are already looking into what they can do to keep things as stable as possible, but there is not a lot they can do.
‘If there is a game, Strictly will have to move but the show’s bosses know there will be outrage.’
All except the very first series of Strictly have climaxed in the week before Christmas, and it has never previously aired on a weekday.
The BBC has previously been so protective of Strictly’s 7.10pm slot that in October 2020 it turned down a request from the Government to delay the show so that Boris Johnson could address the nation about the coronavirus pandemic.
The BBC has previously been so protective of Strictly’s 7.10pm slot that in October 2020 it turned down a request from the Government to delay the show so that Boris Johnson could address the nation about the coronavirus pandemic
The Prime Minister was scheduled to speak from Downing Street at 6.30pm, but ran late, delaying Strictly by a few minutes, to the fury of many of its ten million fans.
One tweeted: ‘Hey Bojo. The people may forgive incompetence, even corruption. They will not forgive delaying Strictly.’
The World Cup begins on November 21 with early-evening Saturday and Sunday games scheduled for November 26 and 27, and December 3, 4 and 10.
Major football competitions are always big draws, and the BBC has spent a fortune securing the World Cup rights, with organiser Fifa netting an estimated £110 million from the Corporation and ITV combined.
Last December’s final, in which deaf EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis (above) and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice lifted the glitterball, peaked at 12.3 million
And last year’s delayed Euro 2020 final between England and Italy – which was screened on ITV and BBC1 simultaneously – was the most-watched TV programme of last year, peaking at 29.8 million viewers across both channels.
Meanwhile, Strictly regularly draws in more than ten million viewers for its live Saturday night show.
Last December’s final, in which deaf EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and her dance partner Giovanni Pernice lifted the glitterball, peaked at 12.3 million.
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