BBC Strictly Come Dancing star's 'worst nightmare' as cast offer support

BBC Strictly Come Dancing professional Dr Punam Krishan, who is partnered with Aljaz Skorjanec, has spoken about Nick Knowles' painful injury

Strictly Come Dancing's Dr Punam Krishan has spoken about Nick Knowles' severe injury, assuring that she is available for support. The DIY SOS star, 62, disclosed on Strictly spin-off It Takes Two that he had sustained an injury, as evidenced by the sling he wore during his interview.

Nick detailed how he incurred the 'painful' injury en route to a family gathering on Sunday to celebrate his birthday. He recounted: "I went to get my 10-year-old son and bring him back to the party but we broke down on the motorway with a flat tyre, and it was raining and there were big lorries going past, so I tried to do it quickly and change the tyre quickly. As I took the tyre off, I basically damaged my bicep and damaged my arm."

Discussing the injury on Tuesday's episode of Morning Live, Nick's Strictly co-star Dr Punam, 41, said: "Oh bless him, it's like an absolute worst nightmare for anyone but he's being strong, he's got all the best care and yes I'm on the end of the phone there if he needs any advice at all but he's been great."

This comes as Nick also shared news of his injury on Instagram on Monday as he headed to London's Harley Street 'to get a scan done and to get some top medical advice', reports The Mirror. During Monday's It Takes Two chat, host Janette Manrara questioned 'at this stage we don't really know if you're going to be able to dance on Saturday', to which Nick expressed that he is 'hopeful'.

He said: "I'll find out more tomorrow but I'm fully expecting to go into training, and I'm really hopeful that I'll be dancing on Saturday."

Nick is set to perform an American Smooth – which can include lifts – to Blur's 'Parklife' in the upcoming show alongside his professional dance partner Luba Mushtuk. Despite the injury, Luba remains optimistic about their training, stating: "We still have a perfect position on our right arm.

"We are going to do perfect footwork in the foxtrot. We might even do the lift on that arm... I will just work around it. I will make it work."

She also humorously mentioned plans to 'sparkle' up Nick's sling, with Nick noting: "Luckily I'm very big, and Luba is very light, one-arm lifts."