Strictly Come Dancing star reveals they battled secret injury despite high scores
"I didn't want it to be a thing on the night."
Strictly Come Dancing's one to watch, George Clarke, has revealed he has seen a physiotherapist after injuring his back during rehearsals.
The content creator opened up on the injury during an episode of The Useless Hotline Podcast, in which he was joined by professional dance partner Alexis Warr.
Despite shooting up the scoreboard and receiving high praise from head judge Shirley Ballas, George explained he had less time to rehearse last week's Paso Doble after needing physio.
"I didn't want it to be a thing on the night," he said during the podcast. "That's why they asked in the VT, they were like, 'Do you want to mention your back?' and I said, 'I don't want it to be a thing.'"
He continued: "I had a pinched nerve all week in my back. I had acupuncture half way through the week. I went to physio four times."
George sustained the injury after a handstand that went awry, and after getting back up he felt "a little twinge" in his back.
Despite this setback, the couple scored 30 points and were in the third spot on the leaderboard, just beneath Amber Davies and Lewis Cope following the week 1 and 2 combined points.
And their dance certainly impressed, with Shirley Ballas describing George as a "front runner", adding: "I think what I appreciate is the fact you're in control of every movement that you do."
This weekend, the celebrities are taking part in Movie Week, with scores from the likes of James Bond, Mary Poppins and The Great Gatsby all on the playlist.
But for George and Alexis, they will be performing to a recent hit, Soda Pop from KPOP Demon Hunters, with their dance yet to be revealed.
And there are plenty of surprises this weekend, with Cynthia Erivo returning as Strictly's first ever guest mentor.
A spokesperson said in a statement: "Cynthia was a guest judge on Strictly for two weeks in 2021, covering for Craig Revel Horwood and then Motsi Mabuse.
"She received praise from viewers for her insightful, supportive feedback and memorably gave her comments to Rose Ayling-Ellis in British Sign Language.
"This time, Cynthia returns for one week only as Strictly’s first ever guest mentor – helping the 14 remaining Strictly couples unleash their inner movie stars by coaching them in rehearsals and in the studio on the night, where she will sit alongside the judges."
Strictly Come Dancing continues on BBC One and iPlayer on Saturday 11th October at 6:05pm.
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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.
