Rehearsals going well, then? Strictly Come Dancing star Nick Knowles looks drained as he takes a smoke break with Luba Mushtuk – after admitting he has to ‘crawl’ to his car after gruelling choreography sessions
He hopes to blow the judges away when he stages his battle for the Strictly Come Dancing Glitter Ball on Saturday night.
But Nick Knowles had to content himself with talking nonsense as he took a break from dance rehearsals in London on Monday.
The DIY SOS presenter was caught smoking a cigarette while chilling outside a local studio with professional dancer Luba Mushtuk, a regular on the BBC show.
Knowles, 61, had been sweating profusely during a four-hour rehearsal and looked understandably exhausted as he caught his breath.
The 34-year-old Russian ballroom specialist Mushtuk joined him for a cigarette before they went back inside together.
Nick Knowles was caught smoking a sneaky cigarette between Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals in London on Monday afternoon
The DIY SOS presenter was seen lounging outside a local studio with professional dancer Luba Mushtuk, a regular on the BBC show, during a four-hour rehearsal ahead of Saturday night’s show.
Knowles recently admitted that his rehearsals for the show were so brutal that he had to crawl to his car afterwards and use ice baths to recover
Knowles recently admitted that rehearsals for the show were so tough that he had to crawl to his car afterward. He uses ice baths to recover.
When asked about the Strictly curse, Knowles, who is taking part in the show’s 20th anniversary series, said: “I barely have the energy to walk to the car afterwards. It’s not a problem.
“Honestly, we trained for a day yesterday. When I got home, I literally crawled to the car and sat with my feet in a tub of cold water for an hour.”
Knowles proposed to lingerie store owner Katie Dadzie, 34, during filming in the US last August.
The presenter, who hosted the show Who Dares Wins, also revealed he has lost almost 20lb since he started training for the Saturday night dance competition six weeks ago.
He added: ‘I was very fat, I lost a lot of weight. I trained for about six weeks to get fit enough to start dancing.
‘That’s the most important thing, that you’re fit enough to do it, because it’s incredibly hard work.’
Knowles previously expressed his desire to lose weight for the dance competition after a fan tweeted him on Twitter: ‘I also have a book with everyone on how much weight you will lose on strictly… I’m down to 3.5 stone…’ [sic]
The presenter stood near the exit as he finished his cigarette before going inside
He seemed to acknowledge the bystanders as he took the last drags of his cigarette
Russian ballroom pro Mushtuk followed him inside as they continued their rehearsal
“I barely have the energy to walk to the car afterward. That’s not a problem,” he said recently of his rehearsal sessions
The presenter also revealed that he has lost almost 20 pounds since he started training for the Saturday night dance competition six weeks ago.
The TV star responded, “I’ve been working out in the gym and following a strict diet and have already lost 7 kilos.”
While at the gym, Nick tweeted a clip of himself nearly falling off the treadmill. He joked: ‘He was fooling around on the treadmill during Strictly training and it nearly went wrong.’
Nick seems to be enjoying his training regime and is determined to get in shape.
Speaking with The Mirror In 2021 he said: ‘I’ve made a living looking like a bag of keys on TV. I weigh 18 stone, I’m huge.
‘I’m always on building sites. During lockdown I gained almost four stone. I’ve lost two stone now and I’m getting fit again.’