Strictly Come Dancing’s Katya Jones rehearses for live show alone just moments before partner Nigel Harman is forced to quit due to injury
Katya Jones was rehearsing alone ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing live show on Saturday, just before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit.
The dancer, 34, and the actor, 50, were preparing to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins for the quarter-finals when disaster struck.
Nigel has now been forced to withdraw from the BBC dancing competition for medical reasons after suffering an injury which is said to have left him 'very disappointed'.
Katya was seen on the phone attending rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire.
She wore a fitted black long-sleeved top with bright pink printed leggings and her hair pulled back from her face.
Katya Jones, 34, was spotted rehearsing alone ahead of Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing live show, just before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit
The dancer and actor were preparing to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins for the quarter-finals when disaster struck (pictured last week)
Nigel's departure leaves only Ellie Leach, Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams and Annabel Croft in the competition as they compete in a bid to win the iconic glitterball trophy.
Nigel quit Strictly Come Dancing just hours before Saturday night's live show after suffering an injury.
The BBC confirmed to MailOnline: 'Unfortunately Nigel has suffered an injury which means he will not be able to perform on tonight's show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.'
“We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they will both be dearly missed by all our Strictly family,” the official Strictly Instagram account added in a post confirming his departure.
Just one day before his departure, Nigel had discussed how hard the fast Charleston had been on his body and admitted he was very exhausted, while photos from Friday also showed him in the studio rehearsing for the fast routine.
Nigel – who is married to Lucy Liemann – reportedly missed training on Saturday morning, while Katya was in attendance, after working 'really hard' during rehearsals to secure a place in the final.
A source said The sun: 'Nigel was not in training this morning, other dancers were informed later in the day. He and Katya were very disappointed as they hoped to stay in the competition.
'They were not in the bottom two and therefore had a real chance of reaching the final. Nigel trained very hard and very hard during rehearsals.”
Katya was seen on the phone attending rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire
She wore a fitted black long sleeve top, bright pink printed leggings and her hair pulled back from her face
Nigel has had to withdraw from the dance competition for medical reasons after suffering an injury, the BBC confirmed
Nigel has not yet elaborated on his departure from the show, but simply shared the official Strictly statement on his own Instagram Stories.
He's not the only star to have left the 2023 series of Strictly after Amanda Abbington – who worked with Giovanni Pernice – quit due to medical reasons in October.
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 complete this routine, I'm literally on an oxygen mask for about five minutes. If I'm still there on Saturday night, I'll be impressed,” he said.