So far there's been 16 series of Strictly Come Dancing, and while we've been thoroughly entertained over the years watching some of our favourite celebrities Rumba and Cha Cha Cha their way around the dancefloor, our entertainment has come at a painful cost to some of them. Learning intricate dance moves each week isn't easy, and many celebs have quite literally put their blood, sweat and tears into a routine. Strictly 2018 champ Stacey Dooley - who won the show with boyfriend Kevin Clifton - was hospitalised after tearing an intercostal muscle behind her rib following a nasty fall, and had to take a two-day break from dancing. Sharing a photo of herself in a hospital bed at the time, Stacey said: "Nothings broke! All the drugs and all the cuppas gonna hook us up! See you Sat! THANK YOU SO SO MUCH TO ALL THE STAFF. You are all b****y amazing." We've rounded up all the most shocking injuries and falls throughout the years…
In 2018, Red Dwarf actor Danny John-Jules injured himself before the show had even started! The injury occurred in rehearsals ahead of the first show, with the 59-year-old admitting to the Mirror: "Mother Nature’s having a bit of a dig at me. I had to bandage my toes," whilst his partner Amy Dowden added they'd had to stop their Foxtrot rehearsal after noticing that Danny was "hobbling" around the studio. "I was telling him he needed to put his feet up," she said.
There was further concern for Danny when he later collapsed while rehearsing for their Jive in the run-up to Halloween week. Speaking on It Takes Two, Danny said: "It's cardio, fitness! I haven't moved like that [for] a long time. You're worried about not slowing down. In the jive, if you slow down it's very obvious and it's a bit of a no-no. That was my main worry. I did collapse after the second run, the tech run on Friday. The floor manager looked down at me looking up at the ceiling and said, 'Do you want to do another one?'"
Poor Kate Silverton suffered a painful injury to her ribs, one day before she hit the dancefloor with her partner Aljaz Skorjanec during the 2018 series. After receiving a grilling from the judges on her "laboured" Argentine Tango, Kate revealed that she ignored her doctor's advice and performed anyway! She said of her injury: "I stripped a muscle on my ribs and because it happened yesterday, I haven’t had time to recover."
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Gemma Atkinson appeared on the 2017 series – where she met her boyfriend Gorka Marquez – and was forced to see a physiotherapist just a week and a half into training with her pro partner Aljaz Skorjanec. Gemma admitted that wearing heels for eight hours a day for over a week took its toll on one of her ankles and she suffered a nasty sprain. After trying to dance through the pain, Gemma admitted that her foot ended up looking "like a trotter".
Ruth Langsford and Anton Du Beke took a tumble in November 2017, at the end of their Paso Doble. Explaining what happened on Loose Women, the 59-year-old stated: "It's because I was his cape and he covered me over his leg at the end so when we fell I just wanted to get up and cover him."
Speaking about lying on top of Anton on It Takes Two, Ruth added: "Just in case anybody thought that we put that in on purpose for comedy, we hadn't. It was an absolute fall backwards… It was a comedy moment. I was trying to rescue the awkwardness because people might have been feeling awkward. I thought, let's just have a comedy moment, I'll just climb on top of you."
Simon Rimmer had an unfortunate slip in rehearsals, just after he and partner Karen Clifton had been saved in the dance-off during the 2017 series. Appearing on It Takes Two with his thigh strapped up, Simon told host Zoe Ball: "So that is from the slip, basically, I've got a bit of pain in my quad and my lovely Physio Doug has strapped me up to keep the muscle in place to hopefully heal it and sort itself out."
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TV presenter Laura Whitmore actually had to miss a week of Strictly in 2016 after she injured her ankle during rehearsals with pro partner Giovanni Pernice. A spokesperson said at the time: "She has been checked by a doctor and the medical team on site and they have advised that she rests her ankle and does not dance this weekend."
Denise Van Outen battled for the glitter ball in 2012, excelling in her Jive with partner James Jordan in her second week on the show. However, The Big Breakfast presenter suffered from whiplash in rehearsals, but excelled on the night with her dance. When speaking to Tess Daly after her performance, the then-38-year-old explained: "I can't feel the pain in my neck because of the adrenaline, but I'm sure I'll be in agony tomorrow."
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Carol Vorderman starred in the show in 2004, unfortunately being knocked out of the competition in week two. The former Countdown presenter, who was partnered with Paul Killick, suffered from a torn cartilage during her Rumba dance but made sure to finish the routine.
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