Curtis: attackers jealous of bro aj
dancers on why they were assaulted by thugs
THE brother of Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Pritchard says thugs attacked them because they were jealous.
The pair were beaten up in a nightclub near their Cheshire home early Monday morning.
Curtis pushed AJ out of the way as eight yobs set upon them. He was knocked unconscious and suffered a suspected broken nose, blurred vision, a split lip and a knee injury. He has pulled out of Ireland’s Dancing With The Stars and faces at least five weeks of recovery.
The brothers joined Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford on This Morning yesterday to give their account of the horrific assault.
Curtis said: “I can only say it was maybe jealousy. AJ was getting photos from people.” AJ added: “If someone comes up for a photo politely I will always say ‘yes’. It made me very self-aware of putting myself in a scenario with larger crowds.
“I’m doing a tour with Strictly. It will make me think twice.”
AJ, who danced with Lauren Steadman, called his brother his “real life Superman” in a social media post, adding: “Thank you for all the love and support over the past few days.
“Yes it is a vile situation, but honestly the love has been overwhelming.” He has asked for more security during the tour.
DARREN Kennedy has revealed he’s fighting fit for the first Dancing With The Stars live show after being struck down with a bad case of food poisoning.
The TV presenter shed almost a stone in just a few days after contracting salmonella while on a charity trip to India just before he started rehearsals.
The Dubliner, 34, said it’s taken him weeks to recover from the illness and he’s only now starting to feel like himself again.
Darren took more than two weeks off to spend Christmas in
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil and he said the break has done him a world of good.
He told the Irish Mirror:
“I’ve given my body a break.
I got sick on a charity trip to India in November.
“I got salmonella and ended up losing almost a stone in weight in a week. It was nice to go away and rebuild myself.
“It was at least five weeks before I was feeling [better]. It takes a long time.
“Even when we started this [DWTS], we had a meet and greet with everyone who is involved and I was still sick. Now I finally feel back to myself. Even though I was over all the symptoms, I was getting tired early and I didn’t have my normal strength. It doesn’t happen overnight.”
The third season of DWTS returns this Sunday on RTE One at 6.30pm, with the 11 celebrity contestants dancing on live TV for the first time. While TV stylist Darren is no stranger to live broadcasts, he said he is terrified of dancing in front of the camera. He added: “I’ve a huge amount of nerves. I feel this is the most nerve-wracking thing I’ve ever done but I think it’s good in life to push yourself. “I remember my first ever time doing live TV when I was about 20 – the set fell apart while we were live on air. So I think, you know what, if it doesn’t terrify you at times then it’s not worth doing.
“I’m terrified but what’s the worst that could happen? We’re not saving lives.” Speaking about how he’s finding learning how to dance, Darren said: “I’m starting from scratch and learning the basics. If I can go out there and do it, I’m going to be happy and if I can improve week on week, all the better.”