Katya Jones was seen rehearsing alone ahead of Strictly Come Dancing’s live show on Saturday, just moments before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit.
The dancer, 34, and the actor, 50, were gearing up to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins for the quarter finals when disaster struck.
Nigel has now to pull out of the BBC dance contest on medical grounds after sustaining an injury, which is said to have left him ‘really disappointed’.
Katya was seen on the phone as she attended rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire.
She wore a fitted long sleeve black top with a pair of hot pink printed leggings and her hair pulled back from her face.
Katya Jones, 34, was seen rehearsing alone ahead of Strictly Come Dancing’s live show on Saturday, just moments before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit
The dancer and the actor were gearing up to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins for the quarter finals when disaster struck (pictured last week)
Nigel’s exit leaves just Ellie Leach, Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams and Annabel Croft still left in the contest battling it out in a bid to win the iconic glitterball trophy.
Nigel quit Strictly Come Dancing just hours before Saturday night’s live show after sustaining an injury.
The BBC confirmed to : ‘Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.’
‘We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they both will be very much missed by our entire Strictly family,’ the official Strictly Instagram account added in a post confirming his departure.
Just one day before his exit, Nigel had discussed how gruelling the fast-paced Charleston had been on his body and admitted he was very worn out, while pictures from Friday also showed him rehearsing in the studio for the fast-paced routine.
Nigel – who is married to Lucy Liemann – reportedly missed training on Saturday morning, while Katya was seen in attendance, after working ‘really hard’ in rehearsals to try and secure a place in the final.
A source told The Sun: ‘Nigel wasn’t in training this morning, and other dancers were informed later on in the day. He and Katya were really disappointed as they were hoping to stay in the competition.
‘They hadn’t been in the bottom two so had a real chance of making it to the finals. Nigel has been training really hard and really through himself into rehearsals.’
Katya was seen on the phone as she attended rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire
She wore a fitted long sleeve black top with a pair of hot pink printed leggings and her hair pulled back from her face
Nigel has had to pull out of the dance contest on medical grounds after sustaining an injury, the BBC confirmed
Nigel has not yet expanded on his departure from the show, but simply shared the official Strictly statement to his own Instagram Stories.
He is not the only star who has quit the 2023 Strictly series after Amanda Abbington – who was paired up with Giovanni Pernice – quit in October due to medical reasons.
During an appearance on Steph’s Packed Lunch earlier this week, Nigel said he would be ‘impressed’ if he was still standing after the difficult routine.
‘Every time we finish this routine, I’m literally on an oxygen mask for about five minutes. If I’m still standing by the end of Saturday night, I’ll be impressed,’ he said.