Katya Jones was seen rehearsing alone ahead of Saturday’s live show of Strictly Come Dancing, just moments before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit.
The 34-year-old dancer and the 50-year-old actor were preparing to perform a “Charleston to Step in Time” from Mary Poppins for the quarterfinals when disaster struck.
Nigel has now been forced to withdraw from the BBC dance competition due to health reasons after suffering an injury which has reportedly left him “really disappointed”.
Katya was seen on the phone while attending rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire.
She wore a fitted, long-sleeved black top with pink printed leggings and had her hair pulled back away from her face.
Katya Jones, 34, was spotted rehearsing alone for Strictly Come Dancing’s live show on Saturday, just moments before her partner Nigel Harman was forced to quit
The 34-year-old dancer and the 50-year-old actor were preparing to perform a “Charleston to Step in Time” from Mary Poppins for the quarterfinals when disaster struck.
The dancer and actor were preparing to perform a Mary Poppins ‘Charleston to Step in Time’ for the quarter-finals when disaster struck (pictured last week).
With Nigel’s departure, only Ellie Leach, Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams and Annabel Croft remain in the competition to win the iconic Glitterball trophy.
Nigel left Strictly Come Dancing just hours before Saturday night’s live show after suffering an injury.
The BBC confirmed to Web: “Unfortunately Nigel has injured himself which means he cannot appear on the show tonight and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”
“We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they will both be greatly missed by our entire Strictly family,” the official Strictly Instagram account added in a post confirming his departure.
Just a day before his exit, Nigel had spoken about how taxing the fast-paced Charleston had been on his body, admitting he was very exhausted, while pictures from Friday showed him rehearsing for the fast-paced routine in the studio.
Nigel – who is married to Lucy Liemann – reportedly missed training on Saturday morning while Katya was in attendance after working “really hard” in rehearsals to secure a place in the final.
A source told The Sun: “Nigel was not in training this morning and other dancers were informed later in the day. “He and Katya were really disappointed as they had hoped to stay in the competition.
“They weren’t in the final two and therefore had a real chance of making it to the final.” “Nigel trained very hard and with a lot of passion right up until the rehearsals.”
Katya was seen on the phone while attending rehearsals at Elstree Film Studios in Hertfordshire
She wore a fitted, long-sleeved black top with pink printed leggings and had her hair pulled back away from her face
Nigel had to withdraw from the dance competition for medical reasons after sustaining an injury, the BBC confirmed
Nigel has not yet elaborated on his departure from the show, only sharing the official Strictly statement on his own Instagram Stories.
He is not the only star to have left the 2023 series of Strictly after Amanda Abbington – who was paired with Giovanni Pernice – exited for medical reasons in October.
Appearing 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 finish this routine, I literally wear an oxygen mask for about five minutes. “If I’m still standing by the end of Saturday night, I’ll be impressed,” he said.