Stefan Dennis has shared the reason he can't return to his home in Australia after being forced to quit Strictly Come Dancing.
The Neighbours star had to pull out of the BBC competition this week after tearing his calf "significantly". He issued a statement saying how devastated he was, but thanked the show for "giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of being able to dance with my wife".
To add further heartbreak for him, Stefan has now said that he can't fly home due to the injury.
"I can’t fly for another two weeks because of the risk of deep vein thrombosis which my wife is pretty upset about. I just feel like I’ve let everyone down," he told The Mirror.
"They all say I haven’t, of course, and the pros know all about injuries, but it feels like a shame to go out in this way. It was all going so well.
"When you go out, you want it to be because the viewers have spoken, because it’s your time, not like this."
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His pro partner Dianne Buswell also hit back at a claim that the exit was due to her pregnancy, the second time she's had to do so.
She shared on her Instagram stories a comment that one viewer had made about Dennis' exit that said: "To be honest I saw this coming, Diane couldn't really continue especially when she gets bigger, bless her. She's a brilliant dancer and she is one of my favourites sorry to say but I think this was planned to keep her and baby safe, just my thought."
Dianne, who is expecting her first child with partner Joe Sugg, added: "I sound like a broken record but I'm seeing a bit of this floating around again! I know people say ignore it but actually why should I.
"I will speak up... I would love nothing more than to keep dancing this week next week the week after that so so on and so forth. In fact I have more energy this year than I did this time last year."
She continued: "Please respect Stefan who is extremely gutted to not be able to dance and stop presuming this was a set up! Because believe me we would if we could."
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Catherine is an Evening News Editor at Digital Spy, and was the site's News Editor between 2018 and 2024. Prior to that, she worked at OK! Online, and has interviewed a slew of celebrities across her career in entertainment news, including Tom Hanks, Cheryl and Noel Fielding. Catherine also has specialist knowledge in all things drag, interviewing a huge portion of RuPaul’s Drag Race stars, and getting her own drag makeover for Channel 4's show Drag SOS. LinkedIn
