Strictly Come Dancing gave one celeb more than he bargained for (Picture: BBC Studios/Ray Burmiston)
Nick Knowles still has a long road to recovery ahead following his Strictly Come Dancing-inflicted injuries.
The 62-year-old TV star tore his anterior cruciate ligament while rehearsing with professional dancer Luba Mushtuk for the BBC One ballroom show.
Having taken a week off from the series, Nick returned to the dancefloor, but after struggling through a Charleston to Rain on the Roof – which features in the film Paddington 2 – he was sent home by the judges.
Nick – who also tore a bicep trying to change a tyre on his car prior to his knee injury – has now given a timeline for his recovery and admits he won’t be back to full fitness for several months.
Speaking to media at the launch of Cirque du Soleil Corteo at London’s Royal Albert Hall, Nick – who was joined on the red carpet by his fiancée Katie Dadzie – said: ‘I’m still recovering.
‘It’s going to be, like, eight months before I’m 100% again. I think I’ll get back to doing less dangerous things like climbing mountains and riding motorbikes!’
Nick Knowles and Luba Mushtuk had a rocky time on the dance show due to his injuries (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
Nick has had two major operations (Picture: Instagram)
Keeping his spirits up, he joked: ‘I did 40 years of rugby and got away with it without major injury.’
The star added: ‘I had a really good surgeon, really good physios. I had two operations: one to reattach my bicep and one to reconstruct my knee. The bicep was done trying to take a wheel off my Range Rover in the rain, and I slipped and basically detached my bicep. I carried on dancing for about three weeks, and then I did the ACL on Strictly.’
However, he’s determined not to let his spirits be dampened, as Nick remains motivated to get fit again, as he still enjoys playing sports with his son and throwing himself into daring activities.
‘I’ve done all kinds of weird things like riding motorbikes in the desert, riding polo ponies, and doing all kinds of activities. That’s the reason why I had the operations; even at my age, I wanted to get back to the point where I could get back to doing all the adventurous stuff that I did before.’
He added that he and his 10-year-old son like surging together, which he believes is worth ‘putting the effort in’ for, despite being ‘knackered and old’.
‘I am to try and get everything working again,’ he declared.
The DIY SOS presenter insists he has ‘no regrets’ about his short-lived Strictly stint (Picture: Guy Levy/BBC/PA Wire)
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Although Nick’s Strictly journey was ultimately cut short because of his injury, the DIY SOS star doesn’t want a second chance, as he doesn’t have any regrets.
‘I was still four weeks into it. I’ve done the stint that I did, I would have liked to have continued longer, obviously, because I was really enjoying it, but I had the knee injury,’ he reflected.
Nick stated: ‘I don’t regret doing it at all. You don’t go into things and then regret doing it afterwards. It was enormous fun.’
As Nick now learns ‘how to walk normally again’ and documents his healing journey via social media, the cast of 2024 heads out on the Strictly Tour.
The rest of the Strictly 2024 cast is heading out on tour (Picture: Anthony Harvey/Shutterstock)
Performing in arenas around the country are Shayne Ward, JB Gill, Montell Douglas, Wynne Evans, and finalists JB Gill, Tasha Ghouri, and Sarah Hadland.
Alas, winner Chris McCausland will not be present, as he instead travels for over 250 dates of his own stand-up comedy tour.
Also absent is professional dancer Vito Coppola, who has suffered a lower back injury.
For the beginning of the tour, his partner, Miranda actress Sarah, will perform with Nikita Kuzmin instead.
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