Strictly Come Dancing star AJ Pritchard has been back training this week ahead of the Strictly tour, and has been looked after by his friends following his horrific nightclub attack last month. And on Tuesday, the pro dancer said that the attack was "character building" as he appeared in a short video on Instagram Stories with fellow pro Dianne Buswell. In the clip, AJ showed that the bruises on his face had healed, and when asked by Dianne how he was, he said: "I'm good, yea, I'm good. Bruising is gone, thank God. Gave me some character." Dianne added: "He's A-Okay."
AJ Pritchard said his attack gave him character
AJ and his brother Curtis Pritchard were victims on an unprovoked attack at a nightclub in Cheshire, close to the family's home. Curtis had stepped in when a group of eight men targeted the pair, and suffered severe damage to his knee, resulting in him needing emergency surgery. The star passed out during the ordeal, and AJ carried him to safety away from the scene. It was revealed on Monday that Curtis – who was forced to pull out from the new series of Ireland's Dancing With The Stars – was going to be replaced by former Strictly star Trent Whiddon. Curtis sent his thanks to Trent for stepping in and "saving the day", and wished him and his partner Holly Carpenter "an amazing first show."
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AJ and brother Curtis appeared on This Morning to talk about their ordeal
The brothers have also spoken out about the attack in several interviews, including a live appearance on This Morning last week. Speaking to Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford, Curtis gave his thoughts as to why they were targeted. He said: "I can only say perhaps it was jealousy, because AJ was doing a couple of photos with people. He's a good looking lad. I was the one getting asked to take the photos, which is fine." AJ added: "If someone comes up to me and asks me for a photo, if they do it politely, I'm always going to say yes."
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Speaking of his sadness about the attack, AJ said: "The really sad thing in this scenario was that we were just out to have a good time, and it came from nowhere. There was none of us in the first place causing a hassle or anything, we were not there for that scenario, that's what is really sad for us."
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