Nigel Harman and Katya Jones in tears as they break silence on BBC Strictly Come Dancing exit

Nigel Harman was forced to quit the BBC dance competition due to an injury and the former EastEnders star has now addressed the shock news about his early exit for the first time

Video Loading

Video Unavailable

The video will auto-play soon8Cancel

Play now

Nigel talks about leaving Strictly due to an injury

Nigel Harman has broken his silence following his shock exit from Strictly Come Dancing, which saw him walk away from the show hours before the quarter-final.

The 50-year-old soap hunk left fans devastated on Saturday when it was announced he had been forced to exit the 2023 season of the long-running BBC dance series. His exit meant that dance partner Katya Jones was also forced to leave – and they both lost their chance to fight for the Glitterball Trophy.

On Saturday’s live show, Nigel and Katya appeared where they spoke to host Claudia Winkleman about their exit with the latter breaking down in tears. Nigel said of his injury in rehearsals: “I was leaping off a rostrum and was about to be caught by some very handsome men. And as I flew, I was Peter Pan and as I landed, I was in A&E. I’ve done something to my rib, basically, and it’s quite painful!”

Nigel Harman has broken his silence following his shock exit from Strictly Come Dancing (

Image:

BBC)

Talking about his time on the show, Nigel said: “Oh, I’ve loved it! I’ve loved it and I am loving it, it’s too soon to say loved. This hasn’t really sunk in, when I watched everyone come down the stairs, I was a bit like: ‘Oh this is real, I’m not part of this anymore.’ That was quite sad and I’ve been avoiding Katya all day because that makes it really real.”

Katya then discussed their exit, saying: “It’s quite hard to talk right now, I’m not going to lie! But I have absolutely loved every moment of us creating magic on a dance floor.” Issuing a sweet message to Katya, Nigel said: “So Katya, the only reason I’m standing here is because of all the work you’ve put into me.

“You turn up every day with so many hundreds of great ideas. You challenge me, you push me, you support me. You make me laugh.” Nigel added: “You’re just part of me now. I can’t even look at you!” The duo then watched back their best bits as Katya broke down in tears and needed tissues.

Nigel had been particularly excited for the quarter-final show as it had a musical theme and he and Katya had been expected to perform a Charleston while dancing to the song Step In Time from the West End show Mary Poppins. But hours before the show was due to film, news broke that Nigel and Katya were out.

The 50-year-old soap hunk left fans devastated on Saturday when it was announced he had been forced to exit (

Image:

BBC)

An official BBC spokesperson announced the news of Nigel and Katya’s departure – confirming: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”

Nigel and Katya’s early and abrupt exit is even more tragic for the pair as dreams were shattered for them both. Katya had got the furthest she has got on the competition in six years.

Appearing on the companion show, It Takes Two, on Friday just hours before their exit, host Fleur East pointed out this fact, saying: “Nigel, this is the furthest Katya has got in six years…”, and asking if he was determined to go all the way to the final.

Nigel replied: “I’m just glad that people get to see her dance in colour because that last time it was still in black-and-white television” with Katya joking: “It was so long ago!” Nigel added: “It’s brilliant for her, it’s brilliant for us, it’s Musicals Week as well, which for me, is a great week. I love musicals! We just feel really grateful to be here.”

* Follow Mirror Celebs on Snapchat , Instagram , Twitter , Facebook , YouTube and Threads .