Strictly's Nick Knowles dealt crushing blow ahead of show launch

Undated BBC handout photo of Nick Knowles, one of the celebrity contestants in this year's BBC1's Strictly Come Dancing
-Credit: (Image: PA)


Strictly Come Dancing star Nick Knowles has been dealt a major blow, just hours before the latest series of the BBC competition begins. On Saturday night, viewers will see the celebrities paired with their dance partners as they take to the dance floor for the first time.

Joining Nick in the star-studded line-up are Chris McCausland, JB Gill, Wynne Evans, Toyah Willcox, Dr. Punam Krishan, Tasha Ghouri, Pete Wicks, Shayne Ward, Sarah Hadland, Jamie Borthwick, Tom Dean MBE, Montell Douglas, Paul Merson and Sam Quek.

The professional dancers also returning to the show are Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova, Amy Dowden, Karen Hauer, Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Gorka Marquez, Luba Mushtuk, Jowita Przystal, Johannes Radebe, Kai Widdrington, Nancy Xu, Carlos Gu, Lauren Oakley, Michelle Tsiakkas and Vito Coppola. They'll be joined by Aljaz Skorjanec, who will return to the Strictly Come Dancing Ballroom as a professional, according to The Express.

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However, while there will be no eliminations this week, speculation is already rife about who will be the first to leave - and it's not looking promising for the DIY SOS star.

Chad Yeomans, spokesperson at Betway said: "We can't split Nick Knowles, Paul Merson and Wynne Evans in the odds and make them all joint favourites at 4/1 to be first out of this year's Strictly competition."

"All three don't appear to be your stereotypical dancers and may struggle for rhythm and grace and are therefore most likely to be quickstepping off the Strictly stage early on!"

On the other hand, Sam, Shayne, and Tasha are the least favourite to be eliminated first.

Nick expressed his excitement about participating in the show, stating: "]I'm so, so excited to be doing Strictly this year. People may be more used to me getting stuck in on a building site or travelling the world, but dancing live on TV will be a whole new adventure.

"I've spent my whole life learning new skills and I've never been afraid of a challenge - there's life in the old dog yet to take on one more big one being taught how to dance! I'll give it my everything .... and try not to embarrass my kids of course!"

For the past 24 years, Nick has been the face of the BBC's BAFTA-winning DIY SOS. Alongside this, the TV star has always had a passion for travel and most recently, worked with Channel 5 on various travel programmes including Into the Grand Canyon, The Mighty Mississippi, and Nick Knowles in South America.

Over the last two decades, Nick has presented across a wide range of formats spanning news, factual, travel, and entertainment and has established himself as one of the UK's most recognisable faces on television.