Strictly Come Dancing has been plunged into chaos after series favourite Nigel Harman quit the series just hours before he was due to perform.
The BBC has announced that the Casualty and ex-EastEnders actor, 50, has withdrawn from the competition, alongside professional partner Katya Jones, on medical grounds hours before Saturday’s live show (2 December).
It’s being reported that there will be no elimination this week, with the remaining celebrities automatically making it through to the semi-final.
A spokesperson told The Independent: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”
It seems the injury was sustained early Saturday afternoon as Jones posted an Instagram Story, showing a preview of tonight’s episode, at approximately 11am GMT.
The image included Harman’s name, and Jones captioned it: “Here we goooo!!”
Just one day earlier, on Friday (1 December), Harman described his fitness as “really quite good” in an interview with The Independent.
He said: “I’m quite tired but I feel like I’m feeling quite fresh in some ways. I know that’s a paradox. I’m quite a little bit proud of myself to be 50 still be leaping around out there, so that’s quite good.
A source told The Sun: “He and Katya were really disappointed as they were hoping to stay in the competition.
“They hadn’t been in the bottom two so had a real chance of making it to the finals. Nigel has been training really hard and really threw himself into rehearsals.”
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Nigel Harman and Katya Jones on ‘Strictly’
(Strictly Come Dancing, BBC One)
Harman was one of the favourites to win this year’s series.
This week, he thanked the public for their “overwhelming” support after he was saved from the dreaded dance off despite being near the bottom of the leaderboard.
He said on Strictly companion show It Takes Two earlier this week: “It’s kind of a bit overwhelming that people are sitting there voting for us.”
The remaining celebrities in the competiton are EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, ex-Coronation Street star Ellie Leach, former tennis player Annabel Croft and musical theatre performer Layton Williams.
Harman was not the first celebrity to quit this year’s Strictly. Just weeks into the 2023 show, Sherlock actor Amanda Abbington, who was paired with Giovanni Pernice, withdrew from the competition.
No reason was given, but the BBC said in a statement: “Amanda Abbington is unable to continue in Strictly Come Dancing and has decided to withdraw from the competition. The show wishes her all the best for the future.”