Rose Ayling-Ellis confesses she injured herself while preparing for dramatic 'Strictly' lift

Watch: Rose Ayling-Ellis discusses making Strictly Come Dancing history

Rose Ayling-Ellis has admitted she is nursing an injury ahead of the Strictly Come Dancing semi-final.

The EastEnders actor said she sustained bruising to her hip while preparing for the dramatic lift she and dance partner Giovanni Pernice executed in last week's American Smooth routine.

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Ayling-Ellis told Strictly: It Takes Two that she was left with "a big bruise on my hip" after rehearsing the move, in which she leapt into Pernice's arms from a considerable distance.

Pernice added: "She didn't really want to practise with the mat, because she was like, it's actually hurting more ... A few times we tried it without, and she went onto the floor."

Ayling-Ellis received praise from the judges for her performance, which scored a near-perfect tally of 39 from the panel.

Rival couple Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu matched their score with a 39 for their Argentine Tango to In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins.

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Ayling-Ellis must now manage her injury ahead of the crucial semi-final, in which all of the remaining couples will perform two numbers.

She and Pernice are due to dance the Argentine Tango to Eduardo Rovira's A Evaristo Carriego and the Waltz to Ellie Goulding's How Long Will I Love You.

The couple are the current bookies' favourites to win Strictly Come Dancing this year and Ayling-Ellis has been praised as an inspiration for succeeding as the show's first deaf contestant.

Earlier this week, she told Sky News it is "nice to be part of history" and pave the way for other deaf dancers in the future.

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She added: "I think it's super important because it's an opportunity to show on such a big platform with millions of people watching, and change their concept of what they think deaf people are like. I'm very proud of that.

The semi-final of Strictly Come Dancing is due to air tonight at 7.05pm on BBC One.

Watch: Rose Ayling-Ellis gets perfect score for Tango on Strictly Come Dancing