BBC's new Saturday night show Save Our Summer compared to Strictly by co-host Alex Horne
BBC One's upcoming sport and entertainment show Save Our Summer is "basically Strictly Come Dancing" with its live studio band and exciting celebrity guests, says comedian co-host Alex Horne.
The new series is fronted by Horne, footballer Peter Crouch and presenter Maya Jama, who will be bringing viewers the biggest names from the world of sport, comedy and music. The show is filmed from a London studio with social distancing in place.
"For me to have a live band in the studio, there's not enough bands playing live and it's basically Strictly so it's a really good atmosphere in there," Horne told press including Good Housekeeping UK ahead of episode one starting on 6 June.
"Obviously we don't have an audience in there because of social distancing, but we don't we really need it because there's nine of us before the guests come on, so it feels really fun and summery. We have a comedian each week, so doing a proper studio show is what I'm looking forward to, and we have Chris Ramsey for the first one," he added.
Ramsey competed in Strictly last year with professional dance partner Karen Hauer. Fans are hoping that the BBC competition will still be able to go ahead this year despite current coronavirus restrictions affecting filming.
The BBC's Director of Content, Charlotte Moore, recently told The Times that producers are considering a number of measures to ensure the series goes ahead.
This could include installing glass divides in the studio "so that people feel even more protected" or having no studio audience at all, as well as keeping each celebrity and professional pairing away from everyone else.
Meanwhile, Crouch explained that Save Our Summer was originally formulated as a post-match party series for the 2020 European Football Championship, which was cancelled due to the pandemic.
"Then Glastonbury got cancelled, Wimbledon, the Olympics, it's not been a great summer and I think we needed to bring a smile to our faces," the retired footballer said.
"Instead of making it around the Euros, we've tried to revolve it around those things... Games with Olympians, a music session, people playing live. The bands and acts we have are massive, so it's gong to be great."
A post shared by Maya Jama (@mayajama) on May 27, 2020 at 6:31am PDT
Maya Jama said it will include something for everyone to enjoy, and that she was most looking forward to the "festival element" of the series.
"We're going to get a lot of artists to do mini performances from their gardens and having a tiny festival, so it has a festival theme to it," the presenter disclosed. "Everyone will relate to something in the show."
Viewers can also look forward to watching Crouch jump out of plane, which he did as part of his "ultimate retirement" section of the show.
"I retired last year and I've been taking ex-team mates on things we couldn't do when we were playing," the sports star revealed. "And one of them is jumping out of a plane. Some of the things I've done...
"In some ways I hope this show never gets commissioned again because I've been close to death on a few occasions and it's not been fun, it's been excruciating at times and jumping out of the plane was one of them!"
Guests will inlcude Little Mix, John Legend, Rio Ferdinand and Liam Gallagher.
Episode One of Peter Crouch: Save Our Summer will air at 9.15pm, BBC One, Saturday 6 June.
Like this article? Sign up to our newsletter to get more articles like this delivered straight to your inbox.
SIGN UP
In need of some positivity or not able to make it to the shops? Enjoy Good Housekeeping delivered directly to your door every month! Subscribe to Good Housekeeping magazine now.
You Might Also Like
