Nigel Harman QUITS Strictly Come Dancing just hours before live show after ‘sustaining an injury’

Nigel Harman has quit Strictly Come Dancing just hours before Saturday night’s live show after sustaining an injury.

The Casualty actor, 50, was gearing up to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Mary Poppins with his professional partner Katya Jones for the quarter finals.

However, he has had to pull out of the BBC dance contest on medical grounds after sustaining an injury, which is said to have left him ‘really disappointed’.

The BBC confirmed to MailOnline: ‘Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.’ 

‘We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they both will be very much missed by our entire Strictly family,’ the Strictly Instagram page added in a post confirming his departure. 

Just one day before his exit was announced, Nigel discussed how gruelling the fast-paced Charleston had been on his body while appearing on It Takes Two. 

Nigel – who is married to Lucy Liemann – reportedly missed training on Saturday morning amid his exit, after working ‘really hard’ in rehearsals to try and secure a place in the final.

A source told The Sun: ‘Nigel wasn’t in training this morning, and other dancers were informed later on in the day. He and Katya were really disappointed as they were hoping to stay in the competition.

‘They hadn’t been in the bottom two so had a real chance of making it to the finals. Nigel has been training really hard and really through himself into rehearsals.’

Nigel is not the only star who has quit the 2023 Strictly series after Amanda Abbington – who was paired up with Giovanni Pernice – quit in October due to medical reasons.

Nigel’s exit leaves just Ellie Leach, Bobby Brazier, Layton Williams and Annabel Croft still left in the contest battling it out in a bid to lift the iconic glitterball trophy. 

After the BBC announced the news on social media, fans were quick to take to the comments section to share their dismay at the popular star’s exit.

Others also questioned whether there will still be a public vote after Nigel’s exit or if the date of the final, set for December 16, will change. MailOnline understands that the logistic details of any changes will be shared in Saturday night’s episode.

One fan wrote: ‘Absolutely gutted for him. He was heading to the final for sure. Speedy recovery Nigel.’

Another said: ‘I’m so upset for him I liked him,’ a third commented: ‘OMG I’m so gutted he was my favourite dancer.’

A fourth penned: ‘That’s such a shame I’m gutted for Katya too as he’s been her best contestant ages,’ and a fifth said: ‘That’s very sad after all his hard work.’ 

While another questioned: ‘Surely they need to stop an elimination next week then. 2 in a final doesn’t work.’

One added: ‘Please cancel tonight’s elimination, having a two person final is horrendously boring and anti-climactic.’ 

Other fans called for Strictly to bring back Angela Scanlon and her dance partner Carlos Gu because of Nigel’s unexpected exit.

During last Sunday’s dance off, Angela narrowly missed out on a place in the quarters after failing to win over the judges with her cha-cha-cha to Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, with Layton Williams and pro Nikita Kuzmin being saved.

Calling for her to be brought back, one fan said: ‘Can you bring back @angelascanlon PLEASE,’ and a second agreed, penning: ‘Bring back @angelascanlon.’

Another wrote: ‘Poor poor Nigel. He was so fabulous! But I saw someone say bring back Angela Scanlon! Great idea!’

The exit will no doubt be a blow to Russian dancer Katya as well as it was the furthest that the professional had gone in the contest since her victory six years ago.

Katya also had to withdraw from the dance contest last year when her partner Tony Adams sustained an injury, making them the seventh couple to leave the show. 

On Saturday morning, mere hours before Nigel’s exit, Katya had taken to her Instagram Stories to share a promotional snap for musicals week alongside the excited caption: ‘Here we gooooo!!’

Nigel shared his excitement about dancing in musicals week and the quarter finals just hours before his exit as he appeared on It Takes Two on Friday.

He gushed: ‘It’s brilliant for [Katya], for us. It’s musicals week as well. It’s a great week. I love it. We just feel really grateful to be here.’

Speaking to host Fleur East, Nigel also discussed how gruelling the routine had been on his body after the slow-paced Rumba the week before.

He said: ‘Well I’m not going to lie. The Rumba just sort of mincing around wafting my hips was lovely, maybe one bead of sweat.

‘This week St John’s Ambulance are on standby. This is completely the other end of the scale.’

Elsewhere on Friday, Nigel and Katya both appeared on Steph’s Packed Lunch to discuss their routine and appeared to be in good spirits.

Katya had joked about how she had been training Nigel to ‘dirty’ up his dances, while host Steph also praised his exceptional dance moves.

She said: ‘He has that poise and elegance about his moves. He always makes, even the rumba, which can be quite awkward for male celebrities; it looks so effortless and natural, so you either have it or you either have it or you don’t, and he definitely has it.

‘But we have been trying to deconstruct him for this week and I am like ”NO”.’ 

Nigel chipped in and said: ‘Basically I have been told I am not dirty enough. I’m not dirty enough for this dance so I am trying to dirty it up.’

Katya was said to have been focusing on trying to get to the Strictly final this year after splitting from property mogul and ex-football player William Abbotts, who she had been dating.

A source told The Sun at the time of her dedication to reach the final: ‘The union ran its course. Katya is single and focusing on the dance competition.

‘She knows she has a strong chance of making it to the final this year. She doesn’t want any distractions.’

Katya, who joined the show as a professional back in 2016 and was first partnered with Ed Balls, won Strictly in 2017 alongside Scottish actor Joe McFadden.

Last week, Nigel and Katya had performed a ballroom Rumba to It’s All Coming Back To Me Now by Celine Dion.

They had secured just 33 points out of 40, placing them second to last on the leaderboard, but they were saved in the public vote as they avoided the dance off.

The couple had gone from strength-to-strength on the show and had avoided the dance off while also winning over viewers. 

However, they have received critical remarks from the judges over the weeks and Nigel ‘stormed off’ at Blackpool after a disappointing score.

The former EastEnders actor and Katya had danced to Duke Ellington’s It Don’t Mean A Thing, which left them second from bottom of the judges’ leaderboard, with a score of 31 points out of 40.

In a video shared to social media, Nigel is seen swiftly exiting the dance floor, just seconds after the BBC cameras stopped shooting.

Katya appeared confused and briefly stood still before following, while other contestants happily danced and hugged.

The audience member who shared the video to Twitter wrote: ‘Are #Strictly judges proud of themselves? Nigel’s been broken tonight, couldn’t even face the keep dancing once theme & cameras stopped. 

‘Taken away someone’s love of dance & confidence should not be what show is about.’