Nicola Adams won’t return to Strictly Come Dancing next year, the BBC has said.
Olympic boxer Nicola was forced to quit the series this week after her pro partner Katya Jones tested positive for coronavirus.
The BBC have said that Katya is asymptomatic and the pair are now self-isolating separately following the latest government guidelines.
However as a result of the positive test Nicola has been forced to leave the competition.
“As part of the protocols outlined ahead of the series, this sadly means they will no longer be able to take part in the competition,” the BBC said.
Nicola said after leaving: “I’m absolutely devastated my Strictly journey has come to an end so soon. I had so much more to give and so many people to win this for!
“But I just want to say a huge thank you to Katya for being the best dance partner anyone could ask for. She pushed me way out of my comfort zone and it’s been an incredible experience.”
While it was rumoured that Nicola could return to the competition next year, the BBC has now said that Nicola won’t be able to take part again.
“As announced before the series if anyone tested positive from COVID they’d be out of the competition,” they said. “If someone has to miss a week it’s called a bye and everyone gets one bye. But contestants are not allowed to miss more than one week.
“They’re not allowed to re-enter the competition after they’ve taken part in the first episode. Jamie [Laing] was allowed back because he was injured before he began training and appeared on the show.
“Nicola can’t come back because she will have an unfair advantage in the future as she’s now had weeks of training.”
However Nicola may still be able to appear in this year’s final or future Christmas specials.
In a statement issued this week, Strictly Come Dancing Executive Producer Sarah James said: “We are incredibly sad that these unfortunate circumstances mean that Nicola and Katya are unable to continue on Strictly. They are a brilliant partnership and had already achieved so much during their time on the show.
“We’d like to thank them for their commitment and although their time in the competition has sadly come to an end we are hopeful that there will be opportunities for them to dance again in the future.”
The rest of the cast are unaffected and the show plans to continue as usual this weekend.
Strictly will air Saturday and Sunday night on BBC One.
Picture: BBC
