Strictly Come Dancing judge Motsi Mabuse will miss Saturday’s show after coming into close contact with a person who tested positive for Covid-19.

In an Instagram post, Mabuse explained that she was fully vaccinated, which would normally mean exemption from isolation.

However, Mabuse is currently in Germany and unable to go back due to UK government guidelines, which do not recognize the vaccines he has received.

Singer and actress Cynthia Erivo will take her place on the panel.

It will be Erivo’s second week as a judge, having replaced Craig Revel Horwood last weekend.

Horwood had tested positive for Covid-19, but will return to the panel this weekend, a Strictly spokesperson confirmed.

“Motsi Mabuse will not be attending Strictly Come Dancing this weekend,” a representative from the show said Friday.

“We are delighted that Cynthia Erivo is joining us as a guest judge again, along with Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and Chief Judge Shirley Ballas on the jury. We look forward to having Motsi back with us next weekend.”

Other stars who missed Strictly episodes due to Covid this year include celebrity contestants Tom Fletcher and Judi Love.

Writing on Instagram, Mabuse said she was “gutted” from having to lose Strictly.

“I was contacted by NHS Test and Trace as being in close contact with someone on Sunday November 21 who has since tested positive,” she explained.

“Being doubly vaccinated and booster as I am would normally mean exemption from isolation under the close contact rules, but unfortunately EU German vaccines are not recognized and neither is my booster in this case, so I have to follow the directions. of the UK government and I can only go back to the UK after November 30th. “

The government website states that the EU Covid Digital Certificate (EUDCC) is not recognized as proof of vaccination for passengers traveling to the UK from Germany.

While the UK recognizes the certificate for passengers traveling from some European countries, for those traveling from Germany the guidelines state: “You cannot currently use your EUDCC to verify your vaccination status via the passenger location form of the UK”.

He adds that people whose EUDCC has been issued in Germany can use it to prove vaccination status in the UK, however it does not apply to travel.

Mabuse said: “Our health is the most important thing and luckily I have been tested several times this week and I am negative. I am fine, I am with my family, this is what matters! I wish everyone the best of luck, sending you mine. love. Keep dancing. Until then, lots of love and stay safe. “

Also this week, the BBC confirmed all six celebrities who will be taking part in this year’s Strictly Christmas special.

Each of the six couples will perform a Christmas-inspired routine.

Conductor and journalist Adrian Chiles has presented TV shows including The One Show, The Apprentice: You’re Fired, GMTV and Match of the Day 2, as well as radio shows including Chiles from BBC Radio 5 Live on Fridays.

Chiles said, “Discouragingly, all of my family and friends with whom I have shared this news have reacted in horror. They cannot believe I am doing this, and neither do I. Thoughts and prayers with any poor dancer is cluttered with me. “

The broadcaster appears to have overcome its previous reluctance to appear on the show. In 2019 he wrote an article in The Guardian it headed: “I was asked to do Strictly Come Dancing. That’s why I refused.”

“Alone at home, out and about beautifully, I know I’m a simply superb engine. It’s just that as soon as a set of eyes settle on me it’s over,” he wrote. “As for the actual dance floors, I become paralyzed with shame and embarrassment, totally unable to move.”

Singer Anna Maria pairs up with Graziano Di Prima for the festive special.

The nine-time Brit Awards nominee and world karate champion, who was also a winning coach on ITV’s singing show The Voice, said she was “thrilled” to attend.

“I love the show, and who would refuse a dance with Graziano?” she added.

News reader Moira Stuart, whose dance partner will be Aljaz Skorjanec, he has worked for the BBC for 40 years of his five-decade career on TV and radio.

The award-winning reporter, who read the news for Chris Evans’ listeners when he presented the Radio 2 breakfast show, said, “I’ve loved dancing for as long as I can remember.

“In fact, it even helped me try to stay warm in my first apartment with cold water.”

Conductor, comedian and writer Mel Giedroyc will be joined by Neil Jones, who said on BBC Two’s It Takes Two that he was thrilled to be dancing with someone who knew more about the series than he did.

Giedroyc, whose television work includes directing the BBC’s Children in Need, Handmade: Britain’s Best Woodworker and seven series of The Great British Bake Off, added; “I don’t think I’ve been so excited about Christmas since I got my first guinea pig from Santa in 1978.”

Repair shop presenter and furniture restorer Jay Blades, who was named MBE earlier this year for his services in crafts, will dance with Luba Mushtuk.

He told It Takes Two that he wished he could be on the show.

“It’s probably one of the things I love to do the most, which is to challenge myself and do something I’ve never done before,” he said via video link from Barbados.

The former sausage factory worker added: “I could do a dad dance but I can’t do the full dance. So let’s dive in and try.”

French maitre Fred Sirieix will go dancing with Dianne Buswell.

The Channel 4 television host, also starring in programs alongside chefs Gordon Ramsay and Gino D’Acampo, began his career working front of house in Michelin-starred restaurants.

He said, “I got the call and I was as excited as I was scared. Because I was so scared I thought I had to.

“There’s no way I can refuse. I have to.”