Nigel Harman has spectacularly quit Strictly Come Dancing just hours before he was due to appear in a live show.
Harman, 50, left the show with dance partner Katya Jones on medical grounds.
He was set to perform a Charleston to Step in Time from Disney’s Mary Poppins tonight on the BBC’s quarter finals.
A source said: “Nigel wasn’t in training this morning, and other dancers were informed later on in the day.
“He and Katya were really disappointed as they were hoping to stay in the competition.
“They hadn’t been in the bottom two so had a real chance of making it to the finals.
“Nigel has been training really hard and really threw himself into rehearsals.”
Confirming Harman’s exit, the BBC added: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”
Harman’s withdrawal ensures no other celebrity will be eliminated this week.
Ellie Leach, Annabel Croft, Layton Williams and Bobby Brazier will all instead make it through to next week.
Harman and Jones performed the steamiest routine of the series last weekend by writhing around on a bed.
Jones, 34, wore a silk negligee to dance the rhumba to Celine Dion’s power ballad It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.
Following the routine, Harman said: “All the time through our hands we’re communicating and through our bodies, you have to be totally locked on with your partner to do that.
“One of my favourite times of the weeks, is when we stand on the corner of the dancefloor and we hold hands and we walk out there together.”
However, Harman is not the only contestant to quit this series.
Amanda Abbington, who was paired up with Giovanni Pernice, left in October due to other medical reasons.
