Dani Dyer "heartbroken" after being forced to drop out of Strictly Come Dancing
"I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita."
Dani Dyer has announced she will no longer be taking part in Strictly Come Dancing after fracturing her ankle during rehearsals.
While training for the first live show this weekend, Dani explained she had a fall and initially thought she had just rolled her foot but it had begun to swell before an MRI scan confirmed she had fractured her ankle.
In a statement, Dani continued: "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."
Sarah James, executive producer at BBC Studios, added: "Dani has brought so much passion, joy and enthusiasm to Strictly, and her partnership with Nikita was off to the most sensational start. Everyone on the show is incredibly sad that she's no longer able to compete in this year's series.
"We send her all our love and best wishes for a swift recovery, and we very much hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future."
Details on whether or not Dani will be replaced in the Strictly 2025 line-up are yet to be confirmed, but this wouldn't be a new challenge Strictly has faced.
In 2019, Kelvin Fletcher was announced as a last-minute replacement for Jamie Laing, who had to withdraw due to an injury. The former Emmerdale actor was announced just days before the first live show and he went on to win the series with Oti Mabuse.
RadioTimes.com has approached the BBC for comment.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 27th September at 6:55pm.
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Authors
Katelyn Mensah is the Senior Entertainment Writer for Radio Times, covering all major entertainment programmes, reality TV shows and the latest hard-hitting documentaries. She previously worked at The Tab, with a focus on reality TV and showbiz news and has obtained a BA (Hons) in Journalism.
