Strictly’s Ranvir Singh admits bosses were ‘determined’ the show would air on time

Ranvir Singh has admitted Strictly Come Dancing was ‘touch and go’ following Boris Johnson’s national lockdown announcement on Saturday evening. 

Fans breathed a sigh of relief when the BBC show aired on time at 7:15pm with barely a minute to spare following the Prime Minister’s delayed press conference.  

Speaking on Monday’s Good Morning Britain, Strictly contestant Ranvir admitted she was ready to go with the latest news on lockdown if the show was delayed.

Last minute: Ranvir Singh has admitted Strictly Come Dancing was ‘touch and go’ following Boris Johnson’s national lockdown announcement on Saturday evening

She said: ‘I was going, “I’m willing to step in for breaking news and then break out into a dance to cheer everyone up.” It was a bit touch and go but they were determined Strictly would go on air. The nation needed it really.’

Ranvir spoke to Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid from a car as she was driven to rehearsals for this week’s show. 

Reacting to fellow guest Gary Lineker saying lockdown would make it a ‘tough winter’, Ranvir said she hopes Strictly will give people a much-needed source of escapism.

She said: ‘[I’m on my way to] training, there’s nothing else in my life now. It was lovely to hear Gary saying “this is going to be a bleak winter” but Strictly is making people smile, thank goodness.’

Serious: In Boris's speech - which was delayed from its original start time of 5pm to around 6.30pm - it was announced England will go into a second national lockdown

Serious: In Boris’s speech – which was delayed from its original start time of 5pm to around 6.30pm – it was announced England will go into a second national lockdown

The show must go on: Fans breathed a sigh of relief when the BBC show aired on time at 7:15pm with barely a minute to spare following the Prime Minister's delayed press conference

The show must go on: Fans breathed a sigh of relief when the BBC show aired on time at 7:15pm with barely a minute to spare following the Prime Minister’s delayed press conference

Susanna praised Ranvir for her quickstep on Saturday’s show, admitting she had a ‘nightmare’ with the dance when she took part in Strictly in 2013. 

Ranvir admitted: ‘Oh my God, my foot is so sore. It’s much harder than it looks. You’ve got to make it look easy and it’s not.’    

It comes after the BBC reportedly refused to delay Strictly Come Dancing for Boris Johnson’s national lockdown broadcast. 

Ranvir said: 'I was going, "I’m willing to step in for breaking news and then break out into a dance to cheer everyone up." It was a bit touch and go but they were determined Strictly would go on air'

Ranvir said: ‘I was going, “I’m willing to step in for breaking news and then break out into a dance to cheer everyone up.” It was a bit touch and go but they were determined Strictly would go on air’

It has been claimed that Downing Street made a last minute plea to the broadcasting house to address the nation after 7pm before they were told the dance show was a ‘priority’. 

In Boris’s speech – which was delayed from its original start time of 5pm to around 6.30pm – it was announced England will go into a second national lockdown from Thursday, with the closure of non-essential shops, pubs and restaurants.   

A source told The Sun: ‘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.

Tension: The BBC reportedly refused to delay Strictly Come Dancing for the Prime Minister's national lockdown broadcast (pictured is Maisie Smith)

Tension: The BBC reportedly refused to delay Strictly Come Dancing for the Prime Minister’s national lockdown broadcast (pictured is Maisie Smith)

‘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. 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.’  

A source also told MailOnline: ‘There was a conversation with Downing Street that the briefing would be at 6.45.’  

The important stuff: It has been reported that Downing Street made a last minute plea to the broadcasting house to address the nation after 7pm before his team were told the dance show was a 'priority' (pictured is presenter Tess Daly on Saturday's show)

The important stuff: It has been reported that Downing Street made a last minute plea to the broadcasting house to address the nation after 7pm before his team were told the dance show was a ‘priority’ (pictured is presenter Tess Daly on Saturday’s show)

The conference – which was watched by around 17 million viewers – did overrun and BBC coverage was switched to its News Channel just as Boris finished his part.      

Some fans shared their worries the dancing show would be delayed earlier in the evening ahead of the Prime Minister’s address to the nation.  

‘Boris better not hold up Strictly. I’m already livid that they’re not doing Halloween week,’ wrote one dancing fan.

And another said: ‘You can take away jobs, close businesses and keep us away from our family, but don’t you DARE delay Strictly on Halloween Week you absolute MONSTER!’

Schedule: The conference - which was watched by around 17 million viewers - did overrun and BBC coverage was switched to its News Channel just as Boris finished his part

Schedule: The conference – which was watched by around 17 million viewers – did overrun and BBC coverage was switched to its News Channel just as Boris finished his part

BBC Radio 4’s Nick Robinson even tweeted that Number 10 was aware of Strictly’s impending start time ahead of the show.

He tweeted: ‘Insiders insist there’s been no trouble. PM had to squeeze three days prep – calls, briefings, writing – for the big announcement into a few hours thanks to last night’s National lockdown leak. No 10 well aware that @Strictly is on at 7.15 pm.’

Luckily the show did manage to start at 7.15pm with many people joking about how close it came to being pushed back.

The relief! Luckily the show did managed to start at 7.15pm with many people joking about how close it came to being pushed back

The relief! Luckily the show did managed to start at 7.15pm with many people joking about how close it came to being pushed back

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