Nick Knowles remains optimistic despite an injury putting a question mark on his future on Strictly Come Dancing.
The DIY SOS star, 62, was seen wearing a sling while in London this morning after hurting his arm while changing a tyre on his car on the side of a motorway.
On Instagram, the TV presenter told his followers that he ‘damaged’ his shoulder while ‘hurriedly’ replacing the tyre to get to safety, and said the injury was still ‘quite painful.’
Nick explained that he was travelling to see a doctor in Harley Street to have scans but was heading to rehearsals with partner Luba Mushtuck straight after to learn his routine for Saturday.
He stated that he was convinced he would be fit to dance for this week’s live show.
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Appearing on Strictly’s spin-off show, It Takes Two, later this evening, host Janette Manrara addressed the elephant in the room as the novice dancer’s injury was clear.
‘At this stage, we don’t know if you’ll be able to dance on Saturday,’ she said.
In response, Nick said with a smile: ‘I’m hopeful, I’m hopeful.
‘I find out more tomorrow, but I’m fully expecting to go into training and hoping to dance on Saturday.’
He and Luba, who opened the show last weekend, will be dancing an American smooth for their second routine, providing he gets the all-clear from medics.
His update comes after a source said Nick was upset over the prospect of not being able to perform in the live shows and concerned about being forced to pull out, which would be his ‘worst nightmare.’
They told The Sun: ‘It may be possible that he could just miss this weekend and return during the following show but it all hangs on whether the BBC will allow him to do it.
‘Nick knows that he needs to give himself time to recover and that means he won’t be able to train properly with Luba.
‘Having to pull out is Nick’s worst nightmare and he’s incredibly upset.’
Nick previously opened up about his gruelling Strictly training sessions, which have made him drop two stone in weight.
When asked on Lorraine how his rehearsals have been going, he said: ‘Really tough to start with, if I’m being really honest, because I’ve never done anything like this before.
‘I’m really, sort of, flatfooted… rugby player for years, not really built for this kind of thing at all.
‘But little bit by little bit, Luba’s getting me up on my toes, making all 18 stone of me a little bit lighter on my feet!
‘I’ve lost about 13 kilos probably so far!
‘What I’ve done is I’ve taken all that and made a little person who runs around carrying my mobile phone behind me.’
Strictly returned for its 20th anniversary series on Saturday – which also happened to be Nick’s 62nd birthday.
He kicked the celebrations off with a jive to We Built This City by Starship, a routine that left judge Anton Du Beke ‘uplifted and elated.’
After their dance, Nick was gifted a cake from professional dancer Carlos Gu who, appearing in a hi-vis jacket and builder’s hat, grabbed a piece of the baked good and pushed it in Knowles’ face.
The Strictly launch show also saw performances from the professionals with a celebratory dance marking the return of Amy Dowden, who missed out on having a celebrity dance partner last year amid treatment for breast cancer.
Before its new series and amid the behavioural allegations, the BBC said it would introduce new welfare measures including a chaperone who will be present ‘at all times’ during rehearsals.
Among this year’s line-up is comedian Chris McCausland, who is the first blind contestant on the show, opera singer Wynne Evans, JLS star JB Gill, singer Toyah Willcox and reality TV star Pete Wicks.
Gladiator and Olympian Montell Douglas, EastEnders’ Jamie Borthwick, Olympian Tom Dean, Morning Live resident doctor and NHS GP Dr Punam Krishan, former England footballer Paul Merson, and Olympic hockey gold medallist Sam Quek are also competing.
Love Island star Tasha Ghouri, who is the second deaf contestant to compete after former EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis won the series with Giovanni Pernice in 2021, X Factor winner Shayne Ward, and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland complete this year’s line-up.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
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