Strictly star sends eight-word warning to celebs after Stefan Dennis horror injury

One Strictly Come Dancing star has said that they can "completely understand" why Aussie actor Stefan Dennis has been forced to quit the BBC competition due to injury. The 66-year-old said that he was "disappointed" as he had to pull out after week four after tearing his calf "significantly".

In a statement, he said: "This morning, I woke up to the most disappointing day of my time in my Strictly journey. Just when I had finally gained the confidence to do well with my dancing in the comp and achieve more great dances along the way, I was told that on Saturday, I had torn my calf so significantly that I am now forced to withdraw from the show. I can't tell you how devastated I am to have to leave so prematurely, especially, as there has been, and still is, so much love and support from everyone for both Dianne [Buswell] and myself." But now one former competitor has opened up on suffering the same "horrible" injury.

Speaking exclusively to The Express via OLBG, Ali Bastian opened up about how Strictly Come Dancing has evolved since her 2009 stint, the physical and mental challenges of the show.

She said: "The show is full-out - big costumes, big production, and while that's amazing, the physical demands must be huge. You can already see the toll with injuries. I heard one of the guys, Stefan Dennis from Neighbours, tore his calf recently.

"I've done that injury before. It's horrible, so I completely understand why he's out.

"The standard is phenomenal, though, and it's only going to get more exciting as the weeks go by." She continued with a word of warning to the other competitors, adding: "I just hope everyone's bodies can keep up."

Ali added that the biggest challenge of competing on Strictly is the "intensity" of the BBC show. "You step into the glitterball world completely," she explained. "We started rehearsals in August - three weeks before the first live show and I was in every single show right up to the semi-finals.

"Then I did the Christmas special, which we actually won, and straight after that, I went on tour. The tour was amazing, a real high point of the whole experience.

"It's less about competition and more about the joy of performing and entertaining, which I love. Performing in arenas was such a rush; unless you come from a music background, it's not something you get to do often.

"But the challenge for me was the competitive side of it. I'm not naturally competitive - I love performing, but I don't have that competitive edge. So I found that part of it quite tough, especially mentally."