Motsi Mabuse to miss Strictly as her German vaccine is out of step with UK rules

A judge on Strictly Come Dancing will miss this weekend’s show because she has been in close contact with a Covid case and her German vaccine is not recognised in the UK.

Motsi Mabuse announced that she would be absent from the BBC show’s judging panel after being contacted by NHS Test and Trace.

The dancer and judge said she had been informed that she has been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid-19, but cannot use normal exemption rules as, despite being fully vaccinated and having received a booster jab, her German vaccine is not recognised in the UK.

She said in a statement on Instagram: “I must follow UK government guidance and can only return after 30 November 2021 to UK.

“Our health is the most important thing and luckily I have been tested multiple times this week and am negative. I am healthy, I am with my family, that’s what matters.”

The star, who travels back and forth between the UK and Germany, will be replaced by Cynthia Erivo, an actress who filled in for judge Craig Revel Horwood last weekend after he tested positive for Covid-19.

A statement from Strictly Come Dancing said: “We can confirm Motsi Mabuse will not be taking part in Strictly Come Dancing this weekend.

“We are delighted that Cynthia Erivo will be joining us as a guest judge again, joining Craig Revel Horwood, Anton Du Beke and head judge Shirley Ballas on the judging panel.

“We look forward to having Motsi back with us next weekend.”

Erivo, who was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar last year for her role in the film Harriet, joined the judging panel last weekend for Musicals Week while Revel Horwood was in isolation. She impressed when she gave Rose Ayling-Ellis, the show’s first deaf contestant, feedback for her dance routine through sign language.

The absence of the two judges is the latest setback to hit Strictly this season. Judi Love, Tom Fletcher and Amy Dowden, his dance partner, all tested positive for coronavirus over the course of the series, while Robert Webb and Dianne Buswell, his dance partner, withdrew from the show over the TV star’s ill health.

Ugo Monye, the former England rugby international, was also sidelined due to a back injury.