Strictly Come Dancing star John Nellis has revealed he suffered an injury before his live performance with Katya Jones on Saturday, October 3. The content creator and YouTube star joined the BBC dancing competition this year, alongside the likes of Dani Dyer and Delta Goodrem.
He has so far avoided the first elimination, which saw Chris Appleton and partner Amy Dowden sent home after a dance off with Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu. The first live show of the series had seen John and Katya reach the top of the leaderboard with 31 points for their Foxtrot.
Injury before the routine
However, they slipped down during Movie Week, with their Titanic-themed Couples Choice, scoring just 23 points. He has now revealed that just before the routine, which saw numerous lifts, John suffered an injury.
Appearing on It Takes Two on Tuesday, October 6, with new host Ellie Taylor, John said: “I could feel nothing other than my heartbeat. It was a good time, we just had a party. It lacked a bit of the technicality of the Foxtrot but the lifts were ambitious, I’d said earlier in the day, I didn’t know if they’d all work, they kind of did… ish! I made it kind of look like they did.
“But actually, earlier in the day, in the dress rehearsal, I really tweaked my thumb. So I was a wee bit scared going into it that it was going to go at me. But I’ve seen the physio and we got through it so I’m happy, I won’t be lifting her for a week or two anyway.”
Lifts and nerves
He then quipped that he only “half-dropped” Katya, adding: “I played it off well, it kind of felt like a bit of a free hit, so that’s why we took the bigger swings with the big lifts and just trying to have a bit of fun.”
Talking about the lifts, John admitted the last of the three in his dance didn’t go as well as he’d wanted, though presenter Ellie insisted the pair still looked “amazing” on the dancefloor.
John went on: “The weird thing with the last one was that we nailed it all week and then once we got to the actual stage, I think being on that platform made me go a bit tighter than I had been in training.
“I was a wee bit worried about falling off the edge but got around twice, it’s still quite impressive, she went down and I just… went down too! I didn’t know what I was doing.”
After hearing of his lifts, John’s co-stars admitted they were “so nervous” for him, with Dani Dyer saying: “I don’t know how you weren’t constantly thinking, ‘I’ve got to do another one now!’”
John continued: “I think I was so juiced up on the adrenaline.” He added: “It was almost like this preservation mode of like, I’m doing the first one, getting through it and then breathe, and then I know there’s another one coming, and another one coming.
“In my head, I was like, I don’t know if I can do all this in one run. If you did that in the gym on a random day you’re probably fine. Doing it in front of the whole nation and the pressure of it all, I was a bit scared.”
Support from fans
Following their performance, John took to social media to write, “That was some party”, and was showered in support from fans and friends alike. Former Strictly contestant George Clarke wrote, “Smashing it,” while Shaun Wright-Phillips said: “What guy, amazing on and off the dance floor.”
One fan meanwhile said: “This was fantastic. Loved it,” while another added: “You were both amazing!! Loved it so much, those lifts!!!” “Well done guys,” someone else echoed.
Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday at 6.15pm on BBC One and iPlayer.
