Archive October 1, 2025

In a candid podcast conversation, Love Island winner Dani Dyer revealed how being forced to leave Strictly Come Dancing was “really testing my mental health.”

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Dani Dyer has opened up about the “pure devastation” of fracturing her ankle and being forced to pull out of Strictly Come Dancing. The Love Island winner revealed how the horrible turn of events was “really testing” her mental health.

Dani emotionally recalled the moment she realized her Strictly journey was over when she spoke on her podcast Live and Let Dyers. The doctor told me, “If I keep dancing on this foot, it won’t heal; it will only get worse and worse.”

“It’s so hard because I was just having the best time of my life. I was so happy, I was so excited. The photoshoots, they’re the fun part, but I got my partner, I got Nikita,” she revealed.

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Dani, 29, fractured her ankle in a rehearsal after the launch show, so she and partner Nikita Kuzmin were both affected when she had to pull out. “We were all just so devastated about it, and I think because everyone was so devastated about it, it made it really hard for me, do you know what I mean?”

She continued, “Everyone around me was pure devastation, and that’s why I couldn’t leave the house, because I knew I’d just cry if someone said to me, “are you okay Dani? “. And everyone is so generous and lovely, making crying in the street a thing. But it’s been really challenging for me to maintain my mental health.

The podcast is co-hosted by Dani’s father, Danny Dyer. He offered her some advice. “What you’ve got to do is, which you have, is pull up them big girl knickers, and we f****** get on with it, because up to this point it’s been an incredible year. You’ve done some amazing stuff.” Dani’s “incredible year” has included getting married to West Ham footballer Jarrod Bowen in May.

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We’ve actually bonded over this injury because Jarrod can understand it, Daniel revealed. He really wants my foot to heal in the right way by sending me for scans and your feet.

If it does, Dani might work for Strictly again the following year. Jamie Laing was able to join the cast for the upcoming series when he had to miss the live performance due to injury. This is something that Daniel wants, she has said.

“I’d really like to return.” I’d really like to return. My door is open, but it’s a year away, so listen up. I’ll walk through someone’s door if they want it to be open because my door is open.

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In the meantime, Nikita has been partnered with another Love Island winner, Amber Davies. With only 24 hours to rehearse, Amber and Nikita pulled together a waltz that scored 27 and put them third on the leaderboard.

Amber joining the lineup sparked some controversy because she has performed in musicals like The Great Gatsby and The Great Gatsby on the West End. Fans are concerned that this will make it harder for other celebs to reach the final along with Emmerdale’s Lewis Cope, who previously competed in hip-hop competitions.

Live And Let Dyers is available to listen to now on Global Player, or wherever you get your podcasts