After suffering an injury during Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals, DIY SOS star Nick Knowles has undergone two major surgeries and is now ‘learning to walk again’. The 62-year-old TV personality, who was paired with professional dancer Luba Mushtuk on the BBC dance show, had to bow out after landing badly on his knee.
It was later revealed that he’d torn his Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) – a crucial tissue that helps keep the knee joint stable. While this can take up to a year to repair, Nick shared an update just this week.
The video posted to Instagram showed a healthcare worker helping him up the stairs using crutches, his leg swathed in bandages and encased in a hefty brace. Alongside the post, he wrote: “[So] it wasn’t on my letter to Santa for two major operations – one to reattach my bicep and a second to build a new ACL and mend two tears in the meniscus. Thank you to my two magnificently talented surgeons – Mr Ahrens for the bicep and Mr Jig Patel for the knee.
“Three types of knee brace and one type of elbow brace – crutches – game ready ice and pressure machine – pressure leggings – physio stretching out [for] months ahead but I want to be walking normally by start of February for the next DIY SOS. Katie my fiancée has been patient and supportive and amazingly patient with me – the worst patient in the world.
“It’s been frustrating and very expensive but I’m determined to get back to 100% fitness which I hope will be around August 2025. Thanks for all the well wishes and encouragement – happy new year all.”
Nick’s knee injury in October made him the third star to exit the competition. He conceded that he initially downplayed how serious his injury was until his departure.
According to the Mirror, he admitted on BBC Radio Wales: “I was trying to play it down, because I was determined to go out dancing rather than sort of go out with the injury… I had the operation four weeks ago and that’s all recovering quite nicely.”
Nick’s fiancée Katie Dadzie has been by his side throughout his recovery. The pair, who got engaged in 2023 after their children brought them together, are planning to marry next year.
Nick has spoken about how the aspiration to dance at their wedding is fuelling his recovery efforts. “We’ve booked our wedding for next summer and the plan is for us to be able to do a first dance,” he previously shared. “It won’t be a full Strictly routine but I’m determined to have a special dance with Katie.”