Kym Marsh to miss Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday

Former ‘Coronation Street’ actor and Hear’Say star is expected to return to the competition next week

Kym Marsh will not compete in the next episode of Strictly Come Dancing after testing positive for Covid.

In a statement released by the BBC on Tuesday (22 November), the broadcaster announced that the former Coronation Street actor and her professional partner Graziano Di Prima will be absent from Saturday’s (26 November) show.

“Kym Marsh has tested positive for Covid-19,” the message begins. “As a result, Kym 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.”

A spokesperson confirmed to The Independent that the programme is set to continue as usual, meaning that one couple will still leave the competition after a public vote.

Including Marsh and Di Prima, there are seven couples remaining in the current season.

The most recent celebrity to leave the competition was Tyler West and his professional partner, Dianne Buswell, following a dance-off with Molly Rainford and Carlos Gu.

Marsh and Di Prima performed a paso doble to a Rihanna medley of “Only Girl in the World” and “We Found Love”, scoring a mark of 33 out of 40 from the judges.

Kym Marsh and Graziano Di Prima on Strictly Come Dancing (BBC/Guy Levy)

Although their score was the second-lowest on the leaderboard, just above Ellie Taylor and Johannes Radebe’s American Smooth routine, they escaped the dance-off and were revealed to be safe on Sunday’s results show (20 November).

Earlier this month, Marsh spoke out about how anxiety had impacted her time in the competition, claiming that a panic attack hours before a live show had almost led to her withdrawing.

“It just came over me, almost out of nowhere, and I couldn’t carry on,” she told The Sun, adding that she’d “always suffered” from panic attacks.

Strictly Come Dancing continues at 7.15pm on Saturday 26 November on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.