Strictly Come Dancing's Nick Knowles' bad run of health woes before pulling out of show

DIY SOS presenter Nick Knowles has been forced to pull out of this weekend's Strictly Come Dancing after sustaining an injury during rehearsals

Nick Knowles has experienced a significant setback, having to withdraw from Strictly this weekend due to an injury sustained in rehearsals. The DIY SOS star reportedly took a tumble during a dress rehearsal for Saturday's Strictly Come Dancing live show and is now understood to be using crutches.

This incident is the most recent in a string of health issues for Nick. His streak of misfortune started in 2014 when a mere sneeze led to a ruptured artery in his sinus – leaving him bleeding heavily.

At the time, Nick attributed the issue to his high-pressure lifestyle, saying: "I was on the way to doing to myself what my father had done to himself. So I went to a retreat in Thailand. I took up yoga, became vegan, and they've worked well for me."

He has sustained multiple injuries from performing stunts on television; he once recounted to The Sun his narrow escape from death in a gyrocopter crash over Mount Etna while filming for Amazing Railway Adventures, and mentioned: "Seventeen, eighteen years ago I fell out of a truck in Africa and had to be airlifted out."

He also said: "Swimming in the arctic circle, jumping in the ice - I love all that stuff, it makes you feel alive.

But Nick's adrenaline-junkie lifestyle has left its mark: "My shoulders, neck, back, knees, everything is knackered because of accidents over the years," he admits, considering his various injuries as "a badge of honour".

Like many, he struggled to recover from a severe case of Covid, experiencing persistent chest pains, fatigue, and breathlessness since contracting the virus early in the pandemic. "I was literally wiped out," he shared.

"I had just no energy and felt like I was operating on about 50 to 60 percent of my normal amount of energy and getting out of breath easily.

"I had about a year where I was heavily overweight but I had to be gentle with myself when I had the long Covid because it's a viral thing and you can't just fight against it."

He kept his symptoms secret for 10 months, fearing it would affect his work: "I didn't want to tell anyone because I thought I wouldn't get a booking for work," he confessed. "I kept it to myself."

Nick's recovery has been further complicated by an injury sustained while changing a car tyre, which jeopardised his participation in Strictly Come Dancing.

With his arm in a sling, it was uncertain if he would dance with partner Luba Mushtuk until the last minute. Training for the show, he says, has been one of the "toughest" challenges, a significant hurdle for the 62 year old.