Strictly’s George Clarke rushed for treatment after injuring back in training

Strictly Come Dancing’s George Clarke has revealed that he was battling a secret injury during Saturday’s show despite placing third on the leaderboard with his Paso Doble

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George Clarke was rushed to physio after suffering an unexpected injury(Image: Guy Levy/BBC/PA)

The stars of Strictly Come Dancing are facing the second dance off this week – and the stress of the competition is already running high.

George Clarke has revealed that he was rushed to a physiotherapist last week after injuring his back in rehearsals last week. The influencer opened up about hurting his back on his podcast, The Useless Hotline Podcast – inviting on Strictly professional dance partner Alexis Warr for the first time.

The 25-year-old wowed the judges and the public with his impressive Paso Doble on Saturday, receiving a score of 30. He landed in third place on the leaderboard for weeks one and two, closely following Lewis Cope and Amber Davies who took second and first place respectively.

Despite storming the scoreboard, George revealed on his podcast that he was given less time to rehearse for his Paso Doble after needing physio for a back injury he sustained in rehearsal.

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George Clarke has opened up about injuring his back in last week’s rehearsals

“I didn’t want it to be a thing on the night,” he said. “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.'”

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He added: “I had a pinched nerve all week in my back. I had acupuncture half way through the week. I went to physio four times.” As for how he did it, George admitted that the injury happened after a handstand went wrong.

“I was like, ‘I’ll throw in a handstand or something.’ I like doing a handstand, if I keep my legs together I’d probably be better at it but it doesn’t feel fun when you do it that way,” he said.

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“I did that and got up and went, ‘My back hurts a little bit actually. Ah s**t, I’ve got a little twinge in there somehow. I’ll try to carry on.'”

Will said that after they took a lunch break, he was unable to return to training and “went straight to physio” instead. “I went to physio the next morning as well. Danced for a bit, sat down,” he said.

Meanwhile, Alexis said that it’s the ‘most frustrated’ she had seen George, with him adding: “Monday is when they throw a load of information at you and then it’s Terrible Tuesday because you’re trying to figure it out.” Not only was he behind with training, but George hade to keep halting rehearsal because of his back pain.

“It would get to the point where I’m getting it then I had to sit down because my back was hurting,” he said.

Earlier this week, George revealed what taking part in the competition really means to him, writing on Instagram: “Probably [a] good time to continue being serious and thank everyone for their unbelievable support so far.

“Whether you’re old or new (here, not just in general) I really appreciate the comments, the messages and obviously the votes!”