Strictly: Judi Love won’t dance this weekend after testing positive for COVID

Strictly Come Dancing 2021 has been dealt yet another blow as contestant Judi Love has tested positive for coronavirus. The positive test means that she and professional partner Graziano Di Prima will be unable to dance this weekend and receive an automatic bye to next week’s show.

A spokesperson for the show confirmed:

Judi Love has tested positive for Covid-19 and is now self-isolating following the latest government guidelines. While Judi and Graziano will not be taking part in Strictly Come Dancing this weekend, Strictly Come Dancing protocols mean that all being well, they will return the following week.

Meanwhile, Judi took to Twitter to share the news with her fans:

Bye bye baby

Judi is the third Strictly 2021 contestant to receive a bye so far this series. McFly singer Tom Fletcher and his pro partner Amy Dowden had to sit out of Week 2 after they tested positive for COVID, while last week Ugo Monye took a week off from the dance floor on doctor’s orders due to a back injury.

However, Judi’s bye has caused a little more controversy, as she had been in the bottom two for the past two weeks. Her absence this week means we’re guaranteed to see two pairings who’ve never faced the dance-off in the danger zone this Sunday.

Who will leave Strictly this week?

Based on judges’ scores so far, Dan & Nadiya, Ugo & Oti and Adam & Katya could all find themselves in trouble as they’ve got the lowest average scores of those celebs left in the competition. That being said, it’s not unheard of for the leaderboard to change dramatically from one week to the next—and the public vote doesn’t necessarily follow the judges scores.

We’re wishing Judi a speedy recovery and can’t wait to see her back in the ballroom!