Jamie Laing’s
Strictly Come Dancing dream is over before it had really even began, after the Made In Chlesea star was forced to withdraw from the competition due to injury.
He announced he was pulling out of the upcoming series on Thursday, after hurting his foot while filming the pre-recorded launch show last week.
While he certainly now holds the record for the shortest-lived Strictly contestant ever, Jamie is not actually the first to leave in an unconventional way. Rare as it might be for contestants quit the
BBC show, here’s the five other stars who previously hung up their dancing shoes early...John Sergeant John Sergeant’s hilariously bad routines became a thing of Strictly legend when he competed on the 2008 series alongside partner Kristina Rihanoff.
But while he might not have been blessed in the dance department, the
British public kept saving him from elimination week after week – much to the despair of the judges.
Arlene Phillips said that if he walked away with the glitterball, it would leave her feeling “desolate”.
After making it through to week 10 of the competition, the BBC News journalist took matters into his own hands and withdrew, fearing that he may actually win the whole series, which he claimed would have been “a joke too far”.
John called the experience “a wonderfully enjoyable thing”, but added: “If the joke wears thin, if in fact people begin to take it very seriously, and if people really are getting so wound up that it’s very difficult to carry off the joke, then I think it is time to go.
“It’s like when you decide when you leave a party, and the time to leave a party is before the fight starts, and I think that’s really what’s happened on this occasion.”
He returned to the ballroom for a farewell dance that week.Kelly Brook Kelly Brook had been an early favourite on the 2007 series, but she cut short her Strictly experience when her father died eight weeks into the competition, following a long battle with cancer.
She had originally vowed to continue rehearsals in his memory, but found it “too difficult” and pulled out ahead of a Saturday night live show.
A spokesperson said at the time: “Kelly has been a fantastic part of the programme and will be sorely missed by everyone on the show.”Will YoungOriginal Pop Idol winner Will Young withdrew three weeks into the competition in 2016.
At the time, he cited “personal reasons” for leaving abruptly, while rumours he had left following an on-air spat with head judge Len Goodman swirled.
But in an interview with Bryony Gordon’s Mad World podcast, Will said he was actually suffering with mental health issues while on the show.
He explained that his PTSD had got so bad that he considered breaking his own leg as an escape.
“I was really ill. I was dragging myself to rehearsals. I just couldn’t do it any more,” Will said. “It was so bad I thought - I’m not joking - I thought about breaking my leg.
“I decided to take on Strictly because I bloody love dancing. And I bloody hated it, because I was so ill.”Jimmy TarbuckComic Jimmy Tarbuck was forced to drop out of the fourth series of Strictly in 2006 on doctor’s orders.
Having made it through to the second week of the competition with partner Flavia Cacace, he was “devastated” when ill health meant he had to hang up his dance shoes.
He said at the time: “I would like to thank my wonderful partner Flavia who has taught me so much and been patient in trying to turn this old cart-horse into a proper dancer. I will really miss training with her.” Jade JohnsonFormer Olympic long jumper Jade Johnson’s time on the show was cut short when she suffered an injury to her knee when it “popped” during training.
The athlete was left in tears when she was forced to sit out week nine of the competition, and told host Tess Daly: “It’s very emotional. Just sitting here is really hard for me. The knee is quite sore.”
After being given a bye allowing her through to the following week, Jade had still hoped to dance, but was forced to withdraw completely when BBC doctors advised her not to risk further injury.
At the time, the competition rules stated any contestant who missed more than one week of the competition had to quit.
Jade was later quoted as saying that Strictly had damaged her chances at the
London 2012 Olympics.
“Strictly has cost me my place in the Olympics. I thought the show injury had healed and I was ready to compete,” she said. “Sadly it flared up just before the trials and made it impossible to get through them.”READ MORE... Jamie Laing Pulls Out Of Strictly Come Dancing Strictly Stars Get Their Groove On As They Come Together With Pros And Judges At Official Launch James Cracknell's Strictly Dreams Were Almost Dashed After Bike Accident