Strictly Come Dancing contestant JJ Chalmers is to undergo surgery on his leg when this year’s series came to an end.
The former Royal Marine suffered major injuries during his military career, following an IED explosion in Afghanistan back in 2011.
In the years since, JJ has trained as an Invictus Games athlete, and is currently one of six celebrities still in the running in this year’s series of Strictly.
Speaking to The Sun, JJ has revealed that his time on the show has exacerbated one of his war injuries, and will undergo surgery to have shrapnel removed from his leg once his time on the BBC show is over.
“My body is covered in scars and it’s full of shrapnel and frag and stuff from Afghanistan, which can sit quite happily for many years without any real issues,” JJ told the newspaper.
“But the problem is, this one has been exacerbated. It can be the physical exertion or it could be the exhaustion. Unfortunately, what it does is it looks for the quickest way up to the surface of your skin, which is where the scar is.
“So it’s about a six-inch scar that’s pretty inflamed. It’s a very tender, stinging pain. When Amy [Dowden, his professional partner] presses up against it, it’s not a very nice thing to poke at.”
He added: “As far as my surgeon’s concerned, this thing needs to get taken out of my leg.
“If we’d had the time, it would’ve been done by now, especially when it first flared up. But this is the situation. Life gets in the way, and that’s a great thing.
“I have the privilege of a life to have, so I’ll be getting it dug out in January, once my world calms down a little.”
The Sun said that JJ is in regular contact with his surgeon, who monitors his injury via video chat, and is also taking antibiotics.
Saturday night’s Strictly live show will see the six remaining couples performing new routines set to classic songs from musical theatre.
JJ and Amy will be performing a Charleston to the title track from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, while the other couples will dance to songs from Waitress, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie and Phantom Of The Opera.
Find out how they get on in this week’s Strictly live show, airing at 7.25pm on BBC One.