Strictly’s Nick Knowles is ‘hopeful’ as he provides replace on injured arm

Strictly Come Dancing star Nick Knowles has told how he’s ‘hopeful he can remain in the competition after his injured arm threw his future on the show into doubt.

Earlier on Monday, the DIY SOS star, 62, revealed he’d injured his arm while changing a tyre on his car on Sunday, after breaking down on the motorway.

He was later spotted with his arm bundled into a sling as he headed to a Harley Street doctor for a scan alongside his fiancée Katie Dadzie.

And speaking to It Takes Two host Janette Manrara on Monday evening, Nick gave an update on his injury, revealing that he’s still waiting on information from medics to see if he can continue on the show. 

Sitting down with Janette, 40, and is professional partner Luba Mushtuk, 34, Nick explained how his injury came about, revealing he’d hurt his arm as he hurriedly tried to change a tyre after breaking down on a motorway while on the way to his birthday party with his son.

Nick explained that after initially hurting his bicep and arm, the pain got ‘worse and worse’, with the presenter telling how he ended up missing his own party because of the breakdown.

As Janette questioned whether he’ll be able to continue on the show, Nick shared: ‘I’m hopeful, I’ll find out more tomorrow.

‘I’m fully expecting to go into training and hopefully will be back on Saturday night.’

Janette then went on to reveal that Nick and Luba will be dancing an American Smooth to Blur’s Parklife if they stay on the show, before asking professional Luba how she plans to ‘approach’ the training given Nick’s condition. 

The choreographer joked that they’ll make Nick’s sling ‘sparkly’ before noting that Nick ‘still has perfect position on the right arm.’

Luba added that the pair can work on doing ‘perfect footwork’ for the foxtrot element of the dance and will still hopefully do a lift, noting that they’ll ‘work around’ the injury. 

When asked if he was nervous at being near the bottom of the leaderboard following his Strictly debut at the weekend, Nick told that he’ll do ‘his best’ for the next show and if the audience can see that he’s ‘really trying’, they’ll hopefully get behind him.

The TV star added that despite being ‘held back’ by his injury, he can ‘hopefully improve’ on the show.

Meanwhile, it’s reported that Nick will meet with the BBC show’s physio on Tuesday, who will determine his fate.

A source told The Sun: ‘Nick will learn whether he is able to stay on Strictly tomorrow. He has been booked in with the physio who works on the show and they will determine whether or not he will be able to dance this weekend.’

The insider added: ‘Nick is absolutely gutted but there is nothing he can do but wait and hope for the best. He is so keen to push on and thinks he can manage, even if he has got an injured arm.

‘Nick puts 110 percent into everything he does and Strictly is a challenge that he is enjoying so much. To have to miss a week or even pull out of the competition is his worst nightmare.’

They added that Nick is a ‘fighter’ and will do everything in his power to ensure he’s back on the dancefloor this Saturday.

MailOnline has contacted representatives of Nick for comment.  

Earlier in the day, Nick continued to sport his arm in a protective sling as he stepped out with his bride-to-be earlier in the day, with his injury sparking concerns he may pull out of the show.

The presenter had made his Strictly debut alongside his professional partner Luba on Saturday.

In a video shared on Monday, Nick said that he was heading to a Harley Street clinic to undergo a scan and hoped to update fans on the state of his injury ahead of his appearance on It Takes Two.

But he vowed that ‘nothing was going to stop him dancing’ ahead of the second live show this weekend.

Sharing a video of his arm wrapped in a sling, Nick said: ‘I thought I’d give a little update. I’ve got a sling, and that’s because my car broke down at the side of the motorway.

‘My little boy [was] in the car, so I wanted to change the tyre as quickly as I could, to make sure we were safe.

‘And in the process of hurrying to get the wheel off, as quickly as I possibly could because there was a big wheel on my big car, I managed to damage my shoulder and arm a little bit.

‘I’m not quite sure how or what, but it’s been quite painful. Although it’s a little better this morning, I’m on my way up to London to Harley Street to get a scan done, and to get some top medical advice, but I’m on my way to training afterwards so I can learn the steps of my next dance.

‘And I’ll see you on It Takes Two a bit later today, where hopefully I’ll have more information and be able to update you, but I’ll keep you posted during the course of the day anyway. Not ideal, but I’m convinced nothing is going to stop me from dancing this weekend.’

During his first Strictly appearance Nick and Luba scored 18 points for their jive, danced to We Built This City by Starship.

Nick stayed true to his roots for his jive to We Built This City sporting a sparkly orange reflective vest – before ending it with a disco ball-esque builders hard hat. 

‘You’re as delighted as I am that that came off the way it did, aren’t you?’ Anton said to Nick after the dance ended. 

However Craig received boos as he called the performance ‘pigeon-toed, stiff and flat footed’. 

For his debut performance, Nick received a three from Craig, and fives from Motsi, Shirley and Anton.