George Clarke has revealed that he was dealing with a back injury while performing in Saturday’s episode of Strictly Come Dancing.
The YouTube star, who is paired up with professional dancer Alexis Warr, explained that he was forced to visit a physiotherapist after a handstand went wrong in last week’s rehearsals.
During a brand new episode of his hit podcast, The Useless Hotline, George and Alexis reflected on week two, with the former admitting that he’d been struggling with a ‘pinched nerve’ in his back.
‘I didn’t want it to be a thing on the night,’ George, 25, admitted. ‘That’s why they asked in the VT, they were like, “Do you want to mention your back?” and I said, “I don’t want it to be a thing.”
‘I had a pinched nerve all week in my back. I had acupuncture halfway through the week. I went to physio four times,’ he noted.
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Recalling how it happened, George said: ‘I was like, “I’ll throw in a handstand or something”.
‘I like doing a handstand, if I keep my legs together, I’d probably be better at it, but it doesn’t feel fun when you do it that way.
‘I did that and got up and went, “My back hurts a little bit, actually. Ah sh*t, I’ve got a little twinge in there somehow. I’ll try to carry on.”‘
Confessing that it was challenging at times, George added: ‘It would get to the point where I’m getting it [the routine], then I had to sit down because my back was hurting.’
During Saturday’s performance, George and Alexis tackled the Paso Doble to Game of Survival by Ruelle, and while the social media star was dancing with an injury, he still made it into the top three.
Coming in joint second with Balvinder Sopal and Julian Caillon, George and Alexis were awarded an impressive 30 points by the judges.
They were just one point behind week two’s leaders, Alex Kingston and Johannes Radebe, who received a 31 for their Samba to La Bamba by Connie Francis.
Following their success, George and Alexis penned a joint post on Instagram, writing: ‘Loving every second of working together and hoping to show you what we’ve got for many weeks to come (some smiles included…hopefully)
‘Some amazing feedback, even more amazing support. Team Warrkey out.’
This weekend, George and Alexis will return to the ballroom for movie week. In an exciting twist, the first themed week of series 23 while go ahead with Wicked star Cynthia Erivo appearing as Strictly’s first-ever guest mentor.
In an official statement, a BBC spokesperson said: ‘Cynthia was a guest judge on Strictly for two weeks in 2021, covering for Craig Revel Horwood and then Motsi Mabuse.
‘She received praise from viewers for her insightful, supportive feedback and memorably gave her comments to Rose Ayling-Ellis in British Sign Language.
‘This time, Cynthia returns for one week only as Strictly’s first ever guest mentor – helping the 14 remaining Strictly couples unleash their inner movie stars by coaching them in rehearsals and in the studio on the night, where she will sit alongside the judges.’
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