Curtis Pritchard has spoken out on his replacement for the Irish version of Strictly after sustaining a knee injury during an unprovoked night club attack with his brother AJ Pritchard. The dancer, who is partnered on the show with Irish model and beauty queen Holly Carpenter, will be replaced by former Strictly Come Dancing star Trent Whiddon on Ireland's Dancing With The Stars. Posting on Instagram on Sunday evening, ahead of her first performance, Curtis wrote: "@hollycarpenter I'm sending you all my love for tonight. Thank you @trentwhiddon for rushing into action and saving the day. I wish you both an amazing first show!"
Curtis with dance partner Holly. Image: Instagram @curtispritchard12
AJ and Curtis were targeted by a group of eight men during a night out in Cheshire just after Christmas. The brothers later spoke out about the horrific ordeal, where AJ revealed that his brother had saved his life by stepping in and trying to stop the men that were tackling him. "Curtis risked his own dancing career to save mine as he threw himself in front of the attackers so they couldn't get to me. He was thinking of both my dancing career with my legs and my TV career with my face," he told The Sun. "He tried to protect me and in doing so saved my life and my legs from danger."
Whilst AJ suffered bruising to his face, arms, body and legs, it was revealed Curtis would need to undergo emergency surgery to correct damage to his knee. Speaking at the time, Curtis admitted he was worried the injuries he sustained in the unprovoked attack will prevent him from dancing again.
MORE: AJ Pritchard and brother Curtis look positive after first physio session since attack
It looks like the future looks positive, however, since Trent is only thought to be stepping in for Curtis for a short time. You may remember that the Australian dancer appeared on one series of the UK's Strictly – having been paired with Pixie Lott back in the 2014 series.