Strictly Come Dancing star Nick Knowles has confirmed he won’t be attending Saturday’s grand finale following a “major operation”.
The 62-year-old had been partnered with Luba Mushtuk for the 2024 series but they bowed out following the exits of Toyah Willcox and Tom Dean.
Knowles had also been given a bye in Week Two after sustaining a shoulder injury away from the ballroom.
As is tradition in years gone by, the four finalists are usually cheered on from the sidelines by their co-stars.
JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri, Sarah Hadland and Chris McCausland will be without the support of Knowles in the ballroom when the final gets underway, however, but the DIY SOS star has sent his best wishes via Instagram.
Sharing a snap of him in his hospital bed following an operation on his knee, Knowles penned: “So as you may have read, I won’t be on tonight’s @BBCstrictly final as I’ve only just had a major operation on my knee.
BBC Strictly: Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk had been partnered together
BBC
“But I’d like to wish all the finalists the best of luck for tonight’s show – they all deserve to be champions.
“And thank you to everyone who voted or sent kind messages about my recovery. Merry Xmas all & a happy new year.
“See you for a brand new series of @bbcdiysos in the new year,” Knowles signed off.
While Knowles has claimed all four finalists “deserve to be champions”, there’s only one star who’s made history as the most likely contestant to win ever, according to bookmakers.
BBC Strictly: Nick Knowles confirmed his absence from the final
McCausland has been priced as the out-and-out favourite with a number of bookies ahead of Saturday’s finale.
Meanwhile, the likes of Gill, Ghouri and Hadland will have to pull off a miracle if they have any hopes of lifting the Glitterball.
On Saturday, Ghouri and Skorjanec will be performing a Couple’s Choice to What About Us by P!nk, a Show Dance to Sing, Sing, Sing by Benny Goodman, and an American Smooth to Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi.
Hadland and Coppola have an American Smooth to Proud by Heather Small, a Show Dance to Cabaret by Metropole Orkest, and a Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna to pull off.
McCausland and Buswell will be taking on a Couple’s Choice to Instant Karma! (We All Shine On) by John Lennon, a Show Dance to You Get What You Give by New Radicals, and a Waltz to You’ll Never Walk Alone by Gerry and the Pacemakers.
And Gill and Oakley, meanwhile, have a Viennese Waltz to Let’s Go Fly A Kite from Mary Poppins, Show Dance to a Motown Medley, and a Samba to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes to contend with.
BBC Strictly: Knowles was part of the class of 2024
BBC
While McCausland is deemed as an almost certain winner by bookmakers, his spot in the finale hasn’t been without its controversy.
The comedian, who’s blind, is one of just two finalists not to have scored a perfect 40 for any of his routines and regularly failed to top the the leaderboard against his competitors.
However, he recently defended his spot in the competition, telling the BBC: “I feel like we’ve never stayed in the competition above anybody that got higher scores than us.
“So it feels like we’ve exceeded expectations and got here on our own merits, so we’ve succeeded above and beyond what we expected of ourselves.