Kevin Clifton lifts lid on Strictly secrets as he discusses ‘standby contestant’ rules

Strictly: Kevin Clifton discusses ‘standby’ contestants

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Kevin Clifton, 39, spilled the tea about some secrets on Strictly Come Dancing, as this year’s series has been plagued with injuries and drop outs. We’re heading into week six of the BBC competition but some are already looking towards the final, and who and how many couples will make it.

I think it can only happen in the first couple of weeks

Kevin Clifton

Usually, there are three couples who make it to the final week of the talent contest, but after Robert Webb had to pull out of the show due to ill health, it’s left the show with one celebrity short.

Speaking on his self-titled podcast, Kevin and his sister Joanne, were joined by community members to discuss the highs and lows of the fourth week of Strictly.

One wondered about the fate of the final now the show is one couple down, and while he didn’t seem too worried Joanne felt differently.

After asking whether a standby contestant would be used, she shook her head.

“I don’t know about the stand by contestant,” Joanne shrugged before she was interrupted by Kevin.

“They do have that…” he said, as she questioned it.

“Well, that’s what happened with Kelvin! There’s always a standby contestant but there has to be a cut off,” Kevin contonued, referring to 2019’s winner Kelvin Fletcher.

“I think it can only happen in the first couple of weeks.

Joanne seemed completely surprised as she added: “I didn’t know that!”

Kevin continued: We’re in week four, so I don’t think they’ll bring in the standby.”

He went on to explain that the show always has an extra celebrity in the wings just incase there’s an injury early on.

They will have been training and rehearsing from week but with none of the stress of the live shows, and Kevin admitted it wouldn’t fair for BBC bosses to bring the extra in after week five.

“If they did it now, it’d probably not be fair to the first few who were eliminated,” he said.

“It’s like someone’s got a by into week four, or if it was any later…”

Coming back to the question in hand, Joanne said: “I don’t think it’d be a two couple final.

“If anything, it might be one week where no one goes out.”

Kevin once again disagreed, saying: “It might be a two couple final!

“I think that’d be quite exciting, one on one!”

10 couples remain in the competition, after Rob and Dianne, Ugo Monye and Oti Mabuse, Greg Wise and Karen Hauer, Nina Wadia and Neil Jones and Katie McGlynn and Gorka Marquez.

Ugo and McFly’s Tom Flecther both missed episodes due to Covid and a back injury respectively, and Judi Love is currently receiving from a positive Covid test.

It is understood that if she is unable to recover in time for this Saturday’s show, then there’s a risk that she and her partner partner Graziano Di Prima will have to exit, although there has been no confirmation of this so far.

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