AJ limps to final
‘Upset and frustrated’ Strictly star’s fight to beat foot injury
STRICTLY star AJ Odudu hobbles into the It Takes Two studios on crutches, but she still has her sights set on the Glitterball trophy. The 33-year-old television presenter declared: “I’m doing everything I can to try to be there on Saturday.” She is due to dance in the final of the BBC One show with pro partner Kai Widdrington. But it was revealed on Tuesday that she had been unable to rehearse after injuring her foot. She appeared with her foot lifted and strapped in bandages at a press conference hosted by It Takes Two host Rylan Clark yesterday and said she was “very frustrated and upset” by the injury. She said: “Basically, long story short, I’ve hurt the ligament in my arch. “I can’t put any weight on my foot at all. So we have missed a lot of training, because I can’t stand up, I’m on crutches.” She and Kai are up against Bake Off winner John Whaite and Johannes Radebe, and EastEnders actress Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, in the final. Each pair will perform three routines, among them the muchawaited show dance. Last night, AJ said: “I can’t pinpoint a moment it actually happened during training but the pain came suddenly on Monday night. “The pain was so acute that I projectile vomited and currently I can’t put any weight on my right foot without agonising discomfort. Because I’m unable to move without crutches, we haven’t been, nor will be, able to rehearse properly ahead of the live final. To say I’m devastated would be a huge understatement.”
Thanking fans for messages of support, she added: “Whilst it’s not the week I had planned, I’m trying to remain hopeful and positive.
“I’m surrounded by a fantastic medical team who are trying their best to get me back on my feet, plus I have the most incredible partner who is carrying me emotionally and physically, literally. Thanks for all your messages.
“I sincerely hope it will be all right on the night.”
Partner Kai, 26, who made his debut as a pro dancer on Strictly this year, said they rehearsed their show dance on Monday.
“We did the show dance, we got through it,” he said. “Obviously, we still need to patch it up a little bit and connect everything, there’s a lot of lifts in there. But the other dances that we’re going to do we did and put the music on and AJ knows them.”
AJ said: “It’s just really frustrating actually. Because the two dances you mentioned that we’re repeating from the series, we’ve not performed them in weeks.
“On Monday, we were optimistic because we were like, ‘Do you know what? The steps are still there. Just got to build the stamina’.
“Our show dance, it’s a beautiful, epic show dance that we have stepped through, I know where we’re meant to be, what I’m meant to be doing. But it’s one of those things you need the practise to give it everything essentially.”
The couple scored their first perfect 40 during last week’s semifinal for one of their two routines, a quickstep, which judge Craig Revel Horwood called “incredible”.
Strictly Come Dancing Final 2021, Saturday, 7pm, BBC One and BBC iPlayer.
I’m doing everything I can to try to be there on Saturday AJ ODUDU STRICTLY COME DANCING FINALIST