Strictly Come Dancing pro Neil Jones has cleared up rumours around whether he’ll be able to perform in this week’s live show.
For the last two weeks, Neil has been unable to dance with his celebrity partner, former Lioness Alex Scott after sustaining an injury during rehearsals.
In his absence, fellow professional Kevin Clifton has been forced to step in and dance with Alex (earning her two of her highest scores of the series in the process, by the way), but it’s now been revealed that it will be business as usual in this week’s live show.
Speaking to Gethin Jones on spin-off show It Takes Two, Alex confirmed she’d be “dancing with my normal partner”, with Neil announcing: “I’m back!”
He said: “It’s great to be back. You know, [Alex] has been doing so well every week, and Kevin, I have to say thank you because Kevin has been there all the way.
“He’s been great this week, and we couldn’t have done it without him.”
On Saturday night, Alex and Neil will be performing a Jive to Chubby Checker’s Let’s Twist Again, which they’ll be praying can land them a spot in Blackpool next week.
This year’s series of Strictly has been particularly heavy on accidents, with celebrity contestant Will Bayley also injuring himself the same week as Neil.
Unfortunately, Will’s knee injury eventually meant he was forced to bow out of the competition early, admitting he was “gutted” at having to step down.
Made In Chelsea star Jamie Laing also had to quit the show before he’d even performed his first routine, after injuring himself during the first group dance of the series.
He was replaced by Emmerdale’s Kevin Fletcher, who has gone on to be one of this year’s front-runners.