Strictly Come Dancing has been hit with an early departure as celebrity contestant Dani Dyer was forced to leave before the first live show after suffering an injury. There has been speculation about her potential replacement, with just a matter of days to go before the series officially gets underway.
The former Love Island champion was among the 15 famous faces competing in this year’s BBC One dancing competition. Viewers watched her ballroom entrance during Saturday’s, September 20, launch programme. She was paired with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin.
Dani confirmed she can no longer remain in the contest. She said: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.
“Apparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so l’ve had to pull out of the show.”
She added: “To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on.”
On the This Morning sofa yesterday, September 24, Wirral-born Shirley sat down with Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard to discuss Strictly. She told the presenters about her thoughts on Dani, saying: “I know her work ethic and when she got onto Strictly I thought ‘They don’t know what’s hit them!’
“This young lady is all sparkle, and of course, yesterday, she fell on her ankle, or twisted it, she has a hairline fracture, so she’s out. I spoke to her yesterday and she’s mortified and devastated but as I said to her, she could come back next year. You know like Jamie Laing did, and he made the final.”
She shared: “I did speak to the executive producer [about a replacement] to try to get an answer for you and they’re hustling and bustling to see what they can do, we’re a dancer down.
“So, either, someone won’t go home the first week or something like that. But let’s hope that someone else will get the opportunity.”
Dani’s Strictly partner Nikita has spoken about feeling “gutted” after Dani was forced to pull out of the BBC dance show. He shared photos and videos of the two and the short time they have shared together on their Strictly journey.
He said: “So so gutted to have finished our journey before it even properly started, the amount of laughs and fun we had in this short time was unbelievable! Really loved our partnership and hope that one day we can actually get to week 1 lol but, heath is the most important thing.
“I’m wishing you the absolute best, you’re so lovely, positive and a wonderful human being! And it breaks my heart knowing how excited you were to do your absolute best on the show! Hopefully we can pick up next year.”