Nick Knowles put on a brave face as he walked into the Strictly Come Dancing ballroom – but some fans have noticed a heart-breaking detail at the end of his performance.
Partnered up with Luba Mushtuk, Nick Knowles had only 16 hours to prepare his dance for this Saturday, September 28, 2024, as he missed out on several training sessions due to a recent injury. Despite this, the home improvement hunk was able to deliver a decent American smooth foxtrot to Blur’s Park Life.
While he was able to dance without his arm in a sling, as his professional partner adapted her routine to his injury, Nick Knowles was seen cradling his arm while judges Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel Horwood and Anton Du Beke assessed his performance.
Viewers at home couldn’t help but notice that, despite maintaining a smile, Nick had clearly been left in pain by his dance. “#Strictly I think Nick did well with his dance but he looked in pain with his arm at the end. Hope he’s ok. Lovely choreography by Luba”, one of them wrote on Twitter, now X.
Another exclaimed: “Nick is the literal definition of smiling through the pain right now he should’ve definitely sat this out”, while a third added: “Definitely looked like Nick was in pain there.” One fan was more critical as they commented: “Fair play to Nick he did well considering he had 16 hours but I’m not fully convinced yet!” But this didn’t stop Nick and Luba from earning a score of 21.
This comes after the budding dancer alarmed Strictly Come Dancing viewers earlier on in the week as he revealed he’d sustained an injury just hours after stepping onto the dancefloor on Saturday, September 21. The DIY SOS presenter took to Instagram to share the news with his followers after being caught with his arm in a sling, and explained he suffered from a shoulder injury after trying to change a tyre while driving his 10-year-old son to a birthday party in his honour. His participation in the show this Saturday had been put into question as a result.
While his condition was assessed, the home improvement expert remained hopeful he’d be able to set foot into the ballroom, giving his fans frequent updates on social media. But this also led him to miss hours of training. After two days of rehearsals, however, just as doubt was morphing into despair, Nick Knowles told his fans that he’d been given the all clear to dance with Luba this Saturday.
Footage showed Nick hard at work mastering his next set of dance moves during a segment on BBC Two’s Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two. He was shown moving both his arms and twirling his dance partner around. Addressing the cameras, Nick said: “Luba has been extraordinary. From the moment she knew I was injured she has been looking at alternative ways. She must have rebuilt this dance ten times.” And the professional dancer herself added: “He is looking incredibly well in hold. He has potential in ballroom!”
Meanwhile a source told The Sun: “Nick is elated that he is being given another chance at getting back on the dancefloor and is focused on his recovery. Nick is in the best hands and will be focussed on getting better before going back into rehearsals. He has absolutely loved the Strictly experience so far so knowing he is still part of the show makes him feel incredibly happy.”