LONDON – TV presenter AJ Odudu has been forced to pull out of Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing final after tearing a ligament in her right ankle.
She was on crutches earlier this week, but has now officially given up hope of competing for the glitterball trophy with dance partner Kai Widdrington. She said she was “deeply upset that I am unable to perform”.
The final will now be contested by Rose Ayling-Ellis and Giovanni Pernice, and John Whaite and Johannes Radebe. Odudu detailed the investigations and treatments she has had in an attempt to recover in time, including ultrasounds, MRI scans and X-rays, two incisions to drain the inflammation around her ankle and being “strapped up to an ice compression machine for days”. She wrote on Twitter: “I’ve done all I can possibly do to get back on my feet for the @BBCStrictly final. I even asked the docs if I could perform in a medical moonboot!
“But the fact is, I can’t stand on my feet let alone dance because I’ve torn my spring ligament.”
She added that it had been “an incredible honour” to take past in the show over the past 13 weeks, and thanked Widdrington for being so “special, patient and devoted”.
“I know you were ready to be my human crutch on that dancefloor come tomorrow night,” she wrote. “Gutted!”
She continued: “Strictly Come Dancing has been a lifelong dream and I’m glad it came true. Good luck to my partners in dance, John and Johannes and Rose and Giovanni. I will be cheering you on (on one leg!)”
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