Strictly Come Dancing star Nick Knowles has been forced out of this week’s live show due to injury, and he’s now shared an update on how he’s doing.
Clutching crutches, the 62-year-old DIY SOS star updated fans this evening, as he said: ‘During our first dress rehearsal unfortunately I damaged my knee and it’s quite painful so the physio says I need to go for an MRI.’
His professional partner Luba Mushtuk added on It Takes Two this evening that she ‘really hope[s] the knee will be better for next week,’ before Nick said: ‘Even if we have to glitter up the crutches, I am determined to get back dancing for you next week.’
This comes after Nick’s Strictly future also came into question last week, when his arm was put into a sling after he injured it while changing a tyre.
Thankfully, he and Luba were able to perform, but this week they weren’t so lucky.
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A BBC spokesperson confirmed the news: ‘Unfortunately, Nick Knowles sustained an injury during rehearsals and as a result, will not dance this weekend.
‘As per the rules of the competition, Nick and Luba will receive a bye through to next week when he is hopefully able to dance again.
‘Everyone at Strictly Come Dancing wishes Nick a speedy recovery.’
As first reported by The Sun, a jump during the dress run went so badly that Nick is now on crutches after hurting his knee.
‘He was in a dress rehearsal with his partner Luba Mushtuk when he did a jump and landed awkwardly,’ a source said.
‘Nick has hurt his knee and is having to use crutches to get around now.’
They added that the accident has dealt him ‘such a devastating blow’ as he’s supported by the Strictly team.
He is now being sent for scans while producers ‘do everything they can to make sure he is ok’.
‘Nick had to fight to make sure he could take part in the first live show after hurting his arm and shoulder, and he did so well,’ added the insider.
‘This new injury has been a real blow and he is incredibly upset about it.’
As for next week, it’s currently unknown whether Nick will be able to get back on the dancefloor.
The source said: ‘Luba and Nick are hoping it is just something minor and that he can recover in time for next week.’
Nick and Luba were due to perform a Charleston to Rain on the Roof from Paddington 2 for Movie Week.
The rest of the celebrities – including Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Chris McCausland, Jamie Borthwick, Wynne Evans, JB Gill, and Sam Quek – will take part as usual, with the elimination on Sunday expected to go ahead.
Couples will perform routines from some of cinema’s most loved films, including Barbie, Elvis, Rocketman, Wonka, and The Little Mermaid, all hoping to impress and make it through to next week.
As of last week, Love Islander Tasha is a front-runner, as the week 1 and week 2 combined scores placed her top of the leaderboard, with JLS star JB and Miranda actress Sarah Hadland also up top.
Down the bottom, sadly, was Toyah Willcox, who managed to survive the first dance-off which sent Olympic swimmer Tom Dean home.
As for Nick, he and Luba also found themselves in the danger zone, having scored a total of 39 points out of a possible 80.
Discussing how he felt after the first celebrity exit on Strictly companion show It Takes Two, Nick reflected: ‘To be honest, for those of us who have never had any dance experience at all, I don’t think that you ever feel that you’re safe anyway.’
‘I was surprised I didn’t go after the first group number!’ he joked, before expressing his wonder over ‘still’ being part of it just days ago.
Nick then added: ‘To see someone eliminated is really tough because everyone behind the scenes has become such a lovely family that you have to sort of commiserate with one person and congratulate another at the same time. It’s very odd.’
Strictly Come Dancing continues tomorrow at 6:25pm on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
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