Dan Walker has revealed he has been forced to sit out large parts of training for this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The BBC Breakfast presenter, who is one of the bookies’ favourites to be eliminated on Sunday, has said he was unable to rehearse his American Smooth routine after suffering a leg injury.
Appearing on It Takes Two on Thursday, Dan told host Janette Manrara: “We’ve had a slight issue this week. I had a bit of an injury to my left calf.
“We haven’t been able to do that much dancing this week, have we?” he added, turning to partner Nadiya Bychkova.
She explained: “No, to be honest, until today, between Monday and Wednesday we had a few hours of eggshell training.
“But, how [Dan] puts himself together, I can see how much pain he’s in but he’s like, ‘I’m fighting through, I love this dance and I really want to do it’. Today as we rehearsed for a few hours, he pulled it together.”
Dan has been the subject of conversation in the media and online as to how he has avoided being in the dance-off every week of the competition, while some contestants who’ve landed higher scores than him have ended up in the bottom two.
After noticing a newspaper headline titled “How Is TV Dan Still In Show?”, Dan posted on Instagram earlier this week: “I’m not sure but we are incredibly thankful for all the support and it’s a true privilege to be a small part of the biggest show on the telly.
“I know articles like this are sourced from a few comments on social media but each week I get thousands of messages from people who love the show and are really enjoying watching @nadiyabychkova teaching me to dance.”
Dan added: “Whoever you vote for this weekend… I hope you enjoy the show. I will continue to do it with a massive smile on my face.”
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.40pm on BBC One, with It Takes Two airing on weeknights at 6.30pm on BBC Two.