Injured Will could miss rest of Strictly
... as ‘joke act’ Mike is saved by judges in dance-off
HE was absent from this weekend’s shows after a horrific knee injury saw him taken to hospital.
Now Will Bayley’s future on Strictly Come Dancing appears to be in jeopardy after it was reported that he had torn a ligament, which left him writhing in agony during rehearsals.
The Paralympic table tennis player, 31, was born with arthrogryposis, which means that he has arthritis in all of his limbs, and has been wearing specially adapted shoes during his dance routines.
But during a vigorous rehearsal for his jive with professional partner Janette Manrara, Bayley attempted an ambitious jump off a table, only to land in a bad position.
Miss Manrara was heard screaming ‘no, no, no’ as she rushed over to Bayley as he was seen lying crumpled on the floor after twisting his right leg.
Strictly Come Dancing is yet to announce if or when Bayley will return to the show, with his position in the competition currently up in the air. In a video message played on Saturday’s show, Bayley said: ‘I jumped off a table and as I landed, I landed with straight legs. I thought I’d broken my leg as I’d never felt anything like that before.
‘But fortunately it’s not as severe as I thought when I first did it. To hear that I “absolutely can’t dance” was really gutting for me but I need to recover now and come back even stronger next week.’ Miss Manrara said: ‘He’s obviously a bit gutted he couldn’t be with us dancing the jive that he absolutely loved all week.
‘He’s at home on icing, taking care of himself and resting. Fingers crossed he comes back next week. Will, I love you, if you’re watching you know my heart is with you.’ Professional dancer Neil Jones was also forced to pull out of Saturday’s show after he suffered an injury during rehearsals.
Kevin Clifton, who has already lost his place in the competition after he and partner Anneka Rice were kicked out a few weeks ago, stepped in to partner Alex Scott with just 45 minutes to learn the routine.
A statement from Strictly read: ‘Sadly, Will Bayley was injured during training and medics have said he cannot dance in the show this weekend. Under the rules of Strictly Come Dancing, Will has been granted a bye to next week.’
Reality TV star Jamie Laing was forced to pull out of the competition before it had even started in September after he damaged a tendon in his right foot during rehearsals.
Last night Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley was kicked off the show after losing the dance-off to BBC sports presenter Mike Bushell.
Considered by many viewers to be the ‘joke act’ of the series, Bushell was saved by head judge Shirley Ballas after the vote was tied between the other judges.