Strictly Come Dancing: HRVY tests negative for coronavirus

Strictly Come Dancing contestant HRVY has announced he has tested negative for coronavirus, eight days on from revealing he had the illness.

“He’s free from Covid, he’s a free elf now,” wrote the YouTube star and singer on his social media platforms.

The 21-year-old accompanied his posts with images of him jumping into a puddle in an apparent homage to Gene Kelly’s Singin’ in the Rain routine.

HRVY’s negative text frees him up to appear in this year’s Strictly launch show, which will be filmed next week ahead of its broadcast on 17 October.

Last week the BBC said HRVY would not miss the launch recording or any dance training “pending a negative test”.

It said the programme, which begins its live shows on 24 October, had “rigorous protocols in place to manage Covid-19”.

Each celebrity will be in an exclusive support bubble with their partner for the duration of their involvement in the series.

Other changes this year include the absence of the Blackpool and Halloween episodes and social distancing between the judges.

Everyone involved will be tested regularly during the run, which will be shorter than in previous years.

When he announced he had coronavirus last week, HRVY said he was “all good” and had “no symptoms” of the disease.

He told his 4.5 million followers on Instagram that his diagnosis proved that “youngsters can get [coronavirus] without even realising”.

HRVY, real name Harvey Leigh Cantwell, first rose to fame after uploading his music videos to Facebook.

Boxer Nicola Adams, comedian Bill Bailey and actress Caroline Quentin are among this year’s other celebrity participants.