Dani Dyer has reportedly been given another chance to participate in Strictly Come Dancing after having to pull out with an injury.
The TV personality, 29, was paired with professional dancer Nikita Kuzmin, 27, for this year’s series, but suffered a fractured ankle in training.
Anticipation had been through the roof for the daughter of national treasure Danny Dyer, with the bookies even seeing her as a favourite to take home the trophy.
Now, however, it has been revealed that the door would be left open for the ‘heartbroken’ former Love Islander, according to BBC bosses.
In a statement, the corporation confirmed that they ‘hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future’.
Get personalised updates on Strictly
Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.
Sign up to our newsletter and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.
On Tuesday, Dani said on social media: ‘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. 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.’
Not long after the announcement, she went on to share a video on social media addressing her exit.
‘Hi guys, I’m going to do this, and try and do this without crying, but yeah, I’m so heartbroken, like I’ve not felt like this in such a long time,’ she told her 3.7 million Instagram followers.
‘I was having the best time ever… It’s a very, very annoying, devastating thing that I’m kind of going through right now, but I’m probably just going to have a few days off my socials just to, you know, process things.
‘I just want to thank you all so much for all your love and support. But yeah, I’m gutted, I’m absolutely gutted.’
She added: ‘I love everyone, everyone at Strictly is absolutely amazing. All the couples, I’m going to miss them so much. I will eventually come along and cheer them on. I just want to thank you all so much.’
After the initial announcement, fellow celebrities and dancers rushed to express how ‘gutted’ they were by the news.
Strictly pro Johannes Radebe said: ‘Gutted for you both, take care of yourself,’ as Amy Dowden wished her a ‘speedy recovery’ and sent ‘so much love’.
Judge and Strictly legend Shirley Ballas added: ‘I’m so so sorry. But health is most important. Get well soon Angel. ❤️’
This is not the first time the show has had to navigate a withdrawal after Game of Thrones star Kristian Nairn had to withdraw before stepping foot on the dancefloor.
He announced that he had to withdraw due to medical reasons, and the show was able to replace him with Emmerdale actor Lewis Cope.
Strictly has had previous experience in replacing contestants after the show has already started.
In 2019, Jamie Laing was forced to withdraw after suffering a foot injury in rehearsals between the launch and first live show – much like Dani.
Eventually, he was replaced by Emmerdale’s Kelvin Fletcher, who went on to win the series. Although even then, Dani’s withdrawal comes just three days before the first live show, which is cutting it extremely fine.
There has been no confirmation yet from the BBC whether she will be replaced or the show will go on without anyone replacing her.
Strictly Come Dancing is available to watch on BBC.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
