Nick Knowles admitted he thought his Strictly journey was over as he returned to the dancefloor on Saturday night.
While his future in the competition was left uncertain after he sustained an injury during training last week it was confirmed on Friday the DIY SOS star would be back to perform for week four.
Taking to the floor with his partner Luba Mushtuk, Nick performed his Paddington themed Charleston from Movie Week as production allowed him to carry his week three dance through after skipping last week’s show.
Dedicating the dance to his 10-year-old son Eddie, judge Motsi Mabuse praised the star for his ‘courageous return’ as she confirmed ‘your son will be proud.’
Speaking candidly to Claudia Winkleman after giving it his all on the dance floor, Nick admitted: ‘This time last week I thought I was out so I am over the moon.’
Nick Knowles, 62, admitted he ‘thought his journey was over’ after his knee injury and was given a pass to perform his movie week Charleston due to lack of rehearsals
Taking to the floor with Luba Mushtuk, Nick performed his Paddington themed Charleston from Movie Week as production allowed him to carry his week three dance through after he skipped last week’s show
Luba added: I am in absolute awe of this man and the determination. The fact that he has fallen in love with dancing is the most beautiful thing.’
Nick was told on Friday by medics he would be able take to the floor on Saturday to dance again, one week after the injury forced him to pull out of Movie Week.
And as he smiled alongside his partner Luba during the show’s introduction, he looked delighted to be back on the floor.
Taking to Twitter Nick’s performance received a mixed reception as viewers sympathised with his injury to varying degrees.
Many were left disappointed at the dance as they penned: ‘Nick Knowles is back, just in time to be sent home’
‘The judges are being very kind to Nick and giving him lots of concessions’; ‘Why are the judges sucking up to Nick Knowles so much? That was not a good dance’;
‘Hhhmmm that actually felt like a lacklustre performance of the Charleston from Nick Knowles.
‘I’m a little disappointed, mostly because he’s had x2 weeks to learn this routine and it just wasn’t as over the top full of goofy character at all’;
Dedicating the dance to his 10-year-old son Eddie, judge Motsi Mabuse praised the star for his ‘courageous return’ as she confirmed ‘your son will be proud’
While his future in the competition was left uncertain, it was confirmed on Friday the DIY SOS star would be back to perform for week four, but would perform his week three dance
Speaking candidly to Claudia Winkleman after giving it his all on the dance floor, Nick admitted: ‘This time last week I thought I was out so I am over the moon’
Taking to Twitter Nick’s performance received a mixed reception as viewers sympathised with his injury to varying degrees
‘Yeah he’s had extra time so should been more polished was boring’;
‘If Nick is tentative with his moves because of his injury he can’t really give 100% against the better dancers can he?’
Others were more understanding of Nick’s injury as they wrote: ‘Nick 6 HUGE RESPECT to Nick not quit the show due to injury, I know this choreography is more easy than original one, but appreciate we can see it!’; ‘Well done Nick’;
‘NICK charleston – He put a lot into the acting, especially at the start. It was very/tooo light and controlled (but he was holding back and felt very placed) The knee injury meant swivel was impossible but did also mean his mirroring with Luba was spot on.’
‘Glad to see Nick made it back but because of the injury the reworked choreography made for a lacklustre Charleston. What he could dance he did well’.
The judges were delighted to have Nick back in the competition as Motsi gushed: ‘Welcome back on the dancefloor. I think it shows alot of courage that you came back. I am sure your son is proud of you.’
Shirley Ballas added: ‘Also delighted to have you back, while the usual strict Craig Revel Horwood went easy on the star as he said: ‘There wasn’t any swivel but because of your knee injury I am not caring about the swivel.’
Luba added: I am in absolute awe of this man and the determination. The fact that he has fallen in love with dancing is the most beautiful thing’
The judges were delighted to have Nick back in the competition as Motsi gushed: ‘Welcome back on the dancefloor. I think it shows alot of courage that you came back’
Tasha Ghouri received the first 10s of the series for her incredible Charleston
Sam Quek performed an energetic Samba to Hips Don’t Lie by Shakira
Viewers were also over the moon to see Nick back where he belongs with his fellow contestants.
They penned: ‘OOH NICK IS BACK!’; ‘I LOVE NICK KNOWLES #Strictly’; ‘so glad Nick is able to dance’.
Breaking his silence on his return to the show, Nick took to Instagram with the positive news as he admitted he missed being absent last week and has well and truly caught the dancing bug.
He began: ‘Hello everyone. Well I watched last week show feeling so sad that I wasn’t there. Of course I loved cheering on everyone else but I really missed it. I missed being part of it.
‘When I signed up to Strictly I never thought for a moment that I would love dancing they way that I do and I well and truly have caught the dancing bug so I am absolutely delighted to be back tomorrow.’
Thanking his support system he added: ‘I am so grateful to all the physios and the medical team at the BBC for getting me back on my feet. See you tomorrow night.’
A BBC Spokesperson also said: ‘We are all delighted that Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk will be dancing in this Saturday’s show. Nick has been cleared to dance by the medical and physio teams following his injury last week.
‘Due to time taken out of training this week, they will be performing their Movies Week Charleston to Rain On The Roof from Paddington 2.’
Taking to Twitter viewers were also over the moon to see Nick back where he belongs with his fellow contestants
Breaking his silence, Nick took to Instagram with the positive news he will be back on Saturday night as he admitted he missed being absent last week and has well and truly caught the dancing bug
Meanwhile Fleur East broke the news during It Takes Two on Friday as she confirmed to fans: ‘Nick Knowles and Luba will dance again on Saturday, we will finally get to see his Charleston.’
He returned to rehearsals on Wednesday and was preparing to perform the dance with his pro partner Luba.
Fans took to Twitter to share their delight that Nick would be back on the show as they penned: ‘NICK & LUBA WILL BE DANCING TOMORROW!!!!’;
‘#ItTakesTwo @MrNickKnowles and Luba can dance on Saturday on #Strictly. Bring on Paddington charleston. The only thing is it is quite quick. I hope the knee does not suffer…’
Another joked: ‘Nick Knowles has been cleared to dance tomorrow (phew!) although i’ve got a suspiction he might be in the dance-off with Paul on Sunday-See you tomorrow at 6:20.’
It comes just after Nick revealed a major health update in regards to his future on Strictly on Wednesday.
He shared an update with fans both on his Instagram account and during an appearance on It Takes Two alongside Luba.
In the Instagram video, he told fans: ‘So I’m behind the scenes at It Takes Two and the good news today is that the physios have cleared me to train tomorrow.
‘That’s not an all clear for Saturday yet. I have to see how I get on tomorrow and then a decision will be made on Friday.
‘So, obviously we’ll update you as we go along. But I just wanted to take this moment to say thank you for all the well wishes that I’ve received and encouragement from everybody. And I’m hopeful that I will be dancing on Saturday.’
Then, being interviewed by Janette Manrara during the BBC dance competition’s spin-off show It Takes Two, Nick went into detail about what happened on Friday.
He explained: ‘We’d had a great week learning the dance and we were doing the camera tech rehearsals where the cameras get to see how the dance works and everything.
‘Very last step of the dance I was late getting to where I should and leapt to the position and my one leg stayed still and the rest of me went through.
‘Had a bit of a collapse and realised it wasn’t in a good position. I hurt my knee basically.’
On the bright side, he added: ‘Each day gets a little bit better. On Friday, it looked pretty bad to be honest. Saturday was not so good but I got a scan and so we decided to wait until Monday so we could have a look at that.
‘Monday was a little bit stronger and today I got the see the physios and I’ve had help from all the rehab and physio’s and doctors and they have given me clearance to try and dance tomorrow to train.
‘If I train tomorrow then it might not necessarily be the end of it. We will see how I do tomorrow and that is all we can say at the moment.’
It also comes after Strictly Come Dancing: The Official Podcast was axed by the BBC.
The corporation confirmed to Ok! that the podcast, which has covered each series since 2019, would not be returning this year.
Hosted by Joe Sugg, who competed with his now girlfriend Dianne Buswell in the 2018 series, and producer Kim Winston, the podcast offered fans behind-the-scenes insight, in depth interviews and commentary on the series’ gossip.
Of its cancellation, a BBC Spokesperson told OK!: ‘In early 2024, we made the decision to end Strictly Come Dancing: The Official Podcast.
‘We’re very proud of the last six series and grateful to Joe Sugg, Kim Winston and all the team involved who made it a success. Fans of Strictly can still tune in to Off The Telly, our weekly TV podcast.’
The spokesperson said that Off The Telly hosts Joanna Page and Natalie Cassidy will be offering their opinions on the series instead.
Last week’s Strictly saw singer Toyah Willcox and her professional partner Neil Jones become the second pair to be eliminated, after losing out to Paul Merson and Karen Hauer in the dance-off.
Following the judge’s decision Toyah gushed over ‘phenomenal’ Neil and declared her experience on the show ‘the best two months of my life!’.
Both couples performed their routines again, with Toyah and Neil taking to the floor with their Samba to Poor Unfortunate Souls from Little Mermaid, after scoring just 15 out 40 and landing at the bottom of Saturday’s leaderboard.
Meanwhile Paul and Karen performed their Cha Cha to The Magnificent Seven from The Magnificent Seven, which saw them initially score 19.
After both couples danced the judges delivered their verdicts with Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke all choosing to save Paul and Karen.