Caroline Quentin, Jason Bell and Max George announced for Strictly Come Dancing 2020

Actress Caroline Quentin, American footballer Jason Bell and singer Max George have been announced as the first three contestants of this year’s Strictly Come Dancing season.

The three contestants were announced by Alex Jones and Amol Rajan on The One Show.

Bell, who was a cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys, Houston Texans and New York Giants, told Jones and Rajan he was "thrilled."

"I am a huge fan of the show, I've been watching it since I came to the country," he said.

Quentin is known for her roles in Men Behaving Badly and Blue Murder, while George made his name as a member of the boyband The Wanted.

The show will look slightly different to previous seasons of the show, with certain adjustments made due to Covid-19.

BBC entertainment controller Kate Phillips revealed Strictly was the “hardest” show to deliver under social distancing restrictions.

With the show set for launch in October, the show’s professional dancers are already rehearsing group numbers, while altered sets and changes to hair, make-up and costuming are now in place to prevent the potential spread of infection.

Phillips explained at the virtual Edinburgh TV Festival: “Strictly is probably the question we get asked more than any other show.

“I can say it absolutely is coming back – it is a slightly shorter run, but apart from that I don’t think it will be a lesser show at all. If anything I think it will be special this series, there will be heightened emotions and a lot of the dances will have real poignancy.

“The pros have been isolating together for the last couple of weeks, they are now rehearsing together, the big dance numbers, it looks so good seeing them dance.

“We will announce the celebrity line-up at the end of this month, we are planning it now but they are all on board and very excited.”

It was recently announced that Bruno Tonioli will miss some of this year’s series as he also works on Strictly’s American equivalent, Dancing with the Stars.

He will be involved on Strictly’s Sunday night results shows, and return full-time at the end of the series.

"I absolutely adore being part of Strictly and can't wait to see what incredible dancing this year has in store,” he said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Phillips said certain aspects of the show will have to be different under the new guidelines.

“We are not quite sure at this stage how much audience we will be able to have in,” she said. “We have to look at Dave Arch and his band, how hair and make-up and costume will work backstage.

“It’s probably the hardest show to do in the current circumstances, a live weekly show that relies on body contact quite a lot. Having said that, I think Studios have really risen to the challenge and there is that old line, necessity is the mother of invention, and I would say across all the entertainment shows we are seeing constant good ideas."