Judi Love pulls out of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend after positive COVID test

"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.”

New protocols on Strictly this year mean a competitor is allowed to return to the competition after a positive COVID test.

Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden underwent the same fate back in Week Two, and the pair were thankfully able to rejoin the competition in Week Three.

Judi and Graziano are not the only pair who had to pull out of the competition last minute either.

Just last week, Ugo Monye and his partner, Oti Mabuse, were forced to step out a week after the former contended with a back injury. He will return this weekend to dance again.

And on top of that, Robert Webb sadly had to leave the competition for good after an illness.

In a statement, Webb said: “I’m extremely sorry to have to announce that I’m withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing due to ill health. Two years ago I had open heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on Strictly and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery. I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show.

“I’m proud of the three dances that Dianne Buswell and I managed to perform and deeply regret having to let her down like this. I couldn’t have wished for a more talented partner or more patient teacher, and it’s a measure of Dianne’s professionalism and kindness that I was able to get as far as I did. Thanks too to everyone at home who voted for us. It was always going to be a difficult mountain to climb (for one thing it’s made of glitter so it’s very skiddy) and I’ve been especially touched by the support from fellow heart patients. I think perhaps I was too eager to impress them. They will know that recovery doesn’t always go in a straight line, and I hope they’re not too disappointed that I ran into the limits of my resilience much sooner than I’d hoped.

“I leave knowing that Strictly viewers are in very safe hands and I’ll be cheering for my brother and sister contestants all the way to Christmas. Despite this sad ending, it has been a genuine honour to be part of this huge, joyful and barking mad TV show. Long may it continue.”

Strictly Come Dancing continues next Saturday on BBC One. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.