Strictly Come Dancing pro Neil Jones is out of the show due to injury for the second week in a row. The BBC announced on Friday evening that the professional, who has waited years to get a chance to partner a celebrity in the hit prime-time TV show, is still not recovered enough to take to the stage on Saturday night, leaving Alex Scott yet again to dance with a stand-in.
Kevin Clifton took Neil Jones' place on last week's show
"Neil Jones has been advised to rest again this weekend, so will not be dancing on tomorrow’s show," the release read. "Kevin Clifton will be dancing with Alex Scott."
MORE: What Strictly's Kevin Clifton really said to Alex Scott after messing up their dance routine
Fans were already worried about Neil's ability to rejoin Alex. He dramatically pulled out of last week's Halloween special following a serious leg injury and was pictured holding onto crutches on Friday suggesting he had not yet fully recovered. In addition to that, for the first time since the start of the series, had not posted any footage from this week's rehearsals on his social media pages.
On Tuesday, Neil confirmed that his partner Alex Scott will be dancing an American Smooth to Ain’t No Mountain High Enough by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell on Saturday night, but ended the post with a huge question mark over whether he'll be joining her. He tweeted: "Yes I can’t wait this week myself @AlexScott will be dancing American Smooth to 'Ain’t no mountain high enough' I just need to hurry up and recover." Sadly for Neil, hopes for his recovery have not come to fruition.
READ: Aljaz Skorjanec reacts to Janette Manrara and Will Bayley's sudden departure
Although Kevin Clifton valiantly came to Alex Scott's rescue last Saturday night, the performance did not go without a hitch. The pro - already eliminted from the competition after partnering Anneka Rice - was forced to apologise to Alex after he "messed up" their dance routine. Despite securing three nines for their Ghostbusters performance, audio released from the stars' microphones revealed that Kevin and Alex suffered a few hiccups along the way.
Neil has been suffering with his injury for two weeks
During their high kicks, the professional foot baller shouted: "Stop, Kev!" Once their routine came to an end, Kevin apologised as they embraced. "Well done," he said. "You were amazing. I'm so sorry."
Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.