The BBC has confirmed that its Saturday evening show Strictly Come Dancing is to join its HD trial from Saturday October 28 – making it the first live studio entertainment show ever to be broadcast in HD in the UK
Jon Beazley, controller of Entertainment commissioning, said: “Strictly Come Dancing is taking a fantastic lead by launching live HD entertainment in the UK. It’s exactly the kind of spectacular show we know audiences would love to see in high definition. For the small but growing HD audience, the BBC’s most glamorous Saturday night entertainment show just got bigger and even more exciting.”
The Strictly Come Dancing trial broadcasts will be the first time BBC Television Centre’s Studio One has been used for a live HD show, since it was fully fitted out for HD by BBC Resources.
Most of this run’s Strictly Come Dancing shows and results will now be included in the trial, which is available to satellite and cable viewers with all the necessary HD equipment.
Strictly Come Dancing joins an autumn line-up on the BBC HD trial that also includes Robin Hood, Torchwood, Planet Earth part 2, BBC ONE sessions, Lead Balloon and Into The West, among other shows.
Seven of the remaining nine Strictly Come Dancing shows will go out on BBC HD, simulcast at the same time as BBC ONE, including the exciting semi-final and final stages. Some results shows will be simulcast live with BBC ONE, and some will run later than BBC ONE on BBC HD, to allow for uninterrupted showings of Into The West.