Simon Rimmer has begun training for this weekend’s Strictly Come Dancing after a painful thigh injury kept him off the dance floor.
The TV chef’s upcoming performance had been thrown into doubt after he and pro partner Karen Clifton were unable to start rehearsing at the same time as everyone else because of his injury.
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Simon fell over during Sunday night’s dance-off and was ordered to strap up his thigh and keep it rested, which meant no dancing.
However, Simon thrilled fans on Wednesday evening by saying he’d been back on the dance floor and things went “well”.
In a double whammy of good news, he also said his father is continuing to recover from his recent heart surgery.
Simon tweeted: “Good day today – training went well, Karen is happy! Dad on the mend. Love to all for keeping me up yesterday x.”
Fans were quick to respond, telling Simon they were really pleased things were on the up.
While Simon is back on the dance floor, his injury hasn’t disappeared just yet.
He spent his evening keeping his feet up, icing his thigh and watching Doc Martin. “Rock and roll… Living the dream,” he joked.
Simon also gave a shout out to his physio team, saying: “My ability to dance this week is completely thanks to Doug and team @AltiusHC – you lot are magicians.”
Simon and Karen now have some catching up to do with the other couples, who were all able to start training on Monday.
Speaking on Strictly’s spinoff show on Tuesday, Simon had said: “I have a lot of pain so my lovely physio Doug strapped me up to keep the muscle in place and hopefully it will sort itself out.
“It has to calm down a little bit, really, which is why we haven’t been able to start yet, as this has to ease off a little bit.”
When Zoe asked Karen if that made her nervous, Karen replied: “A little bit! Because it leaves us two days to put everything together.
“But he’s a hard worker and very focused so I’m okay – for now!”
She added: “It’s really tough as these guys haven’t danced before and it’s pretty intense on your muscles.
“If something like that happens, it’s hard to recover from it, but hopefully he’ll be okay. Fingers crossed!”
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Simon’s injury happened after he slipped over during the dance-off on Sunday night, when he and Karen had to perform their Charleston for a second time.
Thankfully, even with the slip, they impressed the judges and booked their place in the Strictly Halloween special this weekend.
They’ll perform the Viennese Waltz to Delilah by Tom Jones.
Good luck!