What Nigel Harman’s injury means for tonight’s show as Strictly exit confirmed

Strictly fans are wondering what Nigel Harman’s shock exit will mean for tonight’s live episode.

It was revealed hours before the live show, which is due to begin at 7.25pm on BBC One, that Harman had been forced to withdraw from the dancing competition due to an injury.

His decision was even more crushing considering the BBC series is due to finish in a fortnight.

The latest episode would have seen the remaining celebrities – EastEnders actor Bobby Brazier, ex-Coronation Street star Ellie Leach, former tennis player Annabel Croft and musical theatre performer Layton Williams – compete for a place in next weeks semi-final .

But, according to reports, all the contestants will be automatically through to the next round following Harman’s departure. Upon a request for comment, the BBC told The Independent: “It’s a live situation and the logistical details will be revealed on the show this evening.”

Since news of Harman’s exit surfaced, many send messages of well-wishes to the Casualty and ex-EastEnders actor, acknowledging that it must have been a serious injury for him to quit outright at such a late stage in the competition.

Usually, in the past when other contestants have suffered injuries, they return the following week.

Many are now assuming that tonight;s episode will be a pointless exercise considering there are no stakes.

However, the most likely scenario is that the judges’ points will be carried over, meaning tonight’s leaderboard could still be in effect next week.

A spokesperson told The Independent of Harman’s departure: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”

It seems the injury was sustained early Saturday afternoon as his professional dance partner Katya Jones posted an Instagram Story, showing a preview of tonight’s episode, at approximately 11am GMT.

The image included Harman’s name, and Jones captioned it: “Here we goooo!!”

Just one day earlier, on Friday (1 December), Harman described his fitness as “really quite good” in an interview with The Independent.

He said: “I’m quite tired but I feel like I’m feeling quite fresh in some ways. I know that’s a paradox. I’m quite a little bit proud of myself to be 50 still be leaping around out there, so that’s quite good.

A source told The Sun: “He and Katya were really disappointed as they were hoping to stay in the competition.

“They hadn’t been in the bottom two so had a real chance of making it to the finals. Nigel has been training really hard and really threw himself into rehearsals.”

Harman was one of the favourites to win this year’s series.

This week, he thanked the public for their “overwhelming” support after he was saved from the dreaded dance off despite being near the bottom of the leaderboard.

Strictly Comes Dancing airs at 7.25pm on BBC One.