Vicky Pattison has been left ‘gutted’ by the Dani Dyer’s sudden exit from Strictly Come Dancing. The Love Island winner, 29, withdrew from the new series of the BBC programme days before the first live show has even launched after suffering a fractured ankle in rehearsals.
Geordie Shore legend Vicky, 37, is one of the celebrities gearing up to take part in the programme as well and will hit the dancefloor alongside professional partner Kai Widrington. She will be fighting for the Glitterball Trophy alongside stars such as Neighbours’ Stefan Dennis, EastEnders actress Balvinder Sopal and drag queen La Voix amongst a host of others.
But she has been left particularly saddened by Dani’s departure because they were sharing a dressing room right up until the injury took place, and she will be a ‘big miss’ to the whole cast this year.
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Vicky and Kai will be dancing the cha-cha-cha in the first live show of the series (Image: Lorraine/ITV)
During an appearance on Thursday’s Lorraine alongside Kai, she admitted: “She’ll be a big miss. She was my little dressing room buddy and my Strictly best pal other than Kai.
“I know she’s gutted, but we’re gutted to lose her. She was a ray of sunshine, a brilliant little dancer and just a nice person. I hope she’ll be back.”
Meanwhile, Vicky also revealed that she and Kai will be dancing the cha-cha-cha on the first live show of the programme, in a bid to impress judges Craig Revel Horwood, Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
Head judge Shirley recently admitted that bosses are scrambling behind the scenes to figure out what to do next, as she hinted that it is likely that there will be no initial elimination.
She added: “I did speak to the executive producer [about a replacement] to try to get an answer for you and they’re hustling and bustling to see what they can do, we’re a dancer down. So, either, someone won’t go home the first week or something like that. But let’s hope that someone else will get the opportunity.”
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Love Island winner Dani, 29, was forced to quit Strictly before the live shows had even started (Image: INSTAGRAM)
Dani took to social media to share her devastation of the news in an emotional statement, and the news was met with sorrow from her fellow dancers on the hit BBC show.
Taking to Instagram, Dani, who shot to fame on the ITV2 dating show in 2018, said: “I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.
“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.”
Following the news, Sarah James, Executive Producer, 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.”
