Dancing on Ice star Greg Rutherford has been forced to quit the show after sustaining an injury ahead of the live final.
The Olympian was set to battle it out tonight (March 10) against Coronation Street's Ryan Thomas, Made in Chelsea's Miles Nazaire and I'm a Celebrity's Adele Roberts.
Hours before the show, Greg's professional skating partner Vanessa James took Instagram to reveal that the star had been taken to hospital following an injury in rehearsals.
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"Unfortunately Greg has sustained a significant injury this morning at rehearsals and won't be able to perform tonight. We are on our way to the hospital for Greg to get examined further and received the treatment he needs," she said.
Related: Dancing on Ice's Ryan Thomas on why he wants Adele Roberts to win
Greg also took to his Instagram Stories to confirm his departure from the show, in a video taken from an ambulance. "Hello, I know this looks very dramatic and everything else," he began.
"Sadly I picked up a big injury in rehearsals, I'm on my way to hospital so I will not be performing on Dancing on Ice tonight. I am devastated but these things happen. Stay tuned, we'll keep you updated. What a nightmare way for this to finish."
"Sadly Olympian Greg Rutherford MBE has had to withdraw from Dancing On Ice after sustaining an injury whilst in rehearsals for the final episode of the current series," ITV told Digital Spy.
"Greg and Vanessa have been such a popular couple this series and have performed some truly memorable routines. We will be helping to support Greg and wish him well with his recovery. We also want to thank him for being such a treasured member of the Dancing on Ice family."
Related: Dancing on Ice's Miles Nazaire on why the show has been his toughest challenge yet
News of Greg's shock exit comes after the world champion athlete opened up about concerns that he wouldn't be able to continue in the competition due to a previous groin injury.
"There's most certainly been a few moments where I thought this [making the final] probably isn't going to happen — the worst one being when the groin tore, which will be four weeks on Saturday," he told Digital Spy and other press.
"When that happened, I thought that was me done, to be honest, because the pain... in ice skating you have to turn constantly, your hips oscillating the whole time, so when you can't do that, you're thinking that 'that's me finished'."
Dancing on Ice's 2024 final airs on Sunday, March 10 at 6.25pm on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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Sara is an entertainment journalist who specialises in TV and film. After studying journalism at the University of Roehampton, Sara joined Digital Spy in 2023, writing news (and the occasional feature) on all things entertainment. She has also written for the culture desk at The Evening Standard. A lover of all things TV and film, Sara can wax lyrical about everything from Bridgerton to The Witcher. She can also recite entire episodes of New Girl, Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Parks and Recreation. In her spare time, Sara loves to knit, crochet and cross-stitch. Also a musical theatre aficionado, Sara counts Samantha Barks as one of her heroes and is a loyal fan of Jodie Comer.
