Strictly Come Dancing star weighs in on Stefan Dennis' 'disappointing' exit
Stefan Dennis confirmed he is being ‘forced' to withdraw from the series after suffering an injury
Strictly: Sally Nugent reports on Stefan Dennis' exit
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Sally Nugent has weighed in on Stefan Dennis' abrupt exit as she admitted “it’s so disappointing”. Stefan was forced to withdraw from the BBC hit competition due to a 'significant' injury, it was confirmed on Monday evening (October 20). The Neighbours legend, who played Paul Robinson on the Australian soap, was paired with Australian professional dancer Dianne Buswell.
During Tuesday’s (October 21) episode of BBC Breakfast, Sally returned to our TV screens alongside co-presenter Ben Thompson as they brought viewers the latest headlines. It didn’t take long for talk to turn to Stefan and Dianne’s Strictly exit. Sally, who appeared on the Strictly Christmas special in 2023 alongside professional dance partner Graziano Di Prima, started off by saying: “The actor Stefan Dennis has pulled out of this year's Strictly Come Dancing.”
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She continued: “The Neighbours star was told after Saturday night's show, that he'd torn his calf muscle so severely that he would need to withdraw.”
A clip of Stefan and Dianne from the show then popped up as Ben continued: “You see there, partnered with Australian Dianne Buswell, who is the first professional dancer to take part in the show while pregnant."
The camera then panned back to the studio and Sally admitted: “It’s so disappointing because I know there are a lot of people who wanted to see him do really well.”
Ben jumped in: “There is a lot of work that goes into it.” Sally continued: “They have been working for months but that training regime is gruelling, you can’t do it with an injury.”
Stefan is now the third star to pull out of the series this year, with Amber Davies replacing Dani Dyer after she fractured her ankle.
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Dianne has since broken her silence after withdrawing from the series. The dancer, who is pregnant with her and Joe Sugg’s first child, took to Instagram shortly after the news broke to commend Stefan for all his work in recent weeks.
Alongside a sweet video of the pair, Dianne wrote: “Stefo I’m so sorry our strictly journey was cut short just as that confidence was starting to grow. But you can walk away with your head held high.
“You can go home to your wonderful wife put your hand out and say would you like to cha cha cha with me, the main reason for being on this show was to be able to dance with her and you can certainly do that now.”
She added: “You are the kindest human I have ever worked with and I can always say I got to dance with the iconic neighbours legend Stefan Dennis or as my dad calls ya Paul Robertson. Can’t wait for you to send me the video of you and Gail dancing together.”
