Former Strictly Come Dancing professional AJ Pritchard has insisted that the show will go ahead this autumn despite the challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic.

The BBC is still planning for Strictly to start in September but is having to adapt the production to ensure that it is safe, which could lead to measures such as "safe distance dancing", a lack of studio audiences and outdoor performances.

AJ, who quit the show earlier this year after deciding to forge a new career as a TV presenting duo with his brother Curtis, expects the new series to proceed as planned but thinks that group dances may be off the cards.

"I think the show will definitely go ahead in some capacity," he told the Radio Times. "For me, the only thing is that professionals would usually start in August, end of July and spend four to five weeks together, doing the professional routines, the group routines.

"I think that that part of it may be in jeopardy slightly. But they can always show repeats of the group dances each week from previous years."

Among the names rumoured to be in the frame for this year's lineup are Gillian Anderson, RuPaul Charles, Katie McGlynn and Catherine Tate.