Just days before the Strictly Come Dancing final, AJ Odudu suffered a foot injury, meaning she is currently unable to rehearse.
When RadioTimes.com caught up with her just moments after, along with the other finalists in the Strictly Come Dancing 2021 line-up, it was clear to see her frustration.
As she detailed the true extent of her injury, AJ became very emotional, explaining: “I’ve hurt the ligament in my arch, and I can’t put any weight on my foot at all. So, we have missed a lot of training because I can’t stand up. I’m on crutches and I’m doing everything I can to try and be there.”
While AJ has already performed two of the Strictly Come Dancing songs and dances earlier in the series, and only one of the routines on Saturday night will brand new, the TV presenter hoped to practice the older dances just one more time.
“It’s just really frustrating,” she continued. “Because the two dances that you mentioned that we are repeating from the series, we’ve not performed them in weeks and weeks. And without giving too much away, they’re energy-inducing dances. So on Monday we were optimistic because we were just like, ‘We just have to build up stamina’ – and as Kai mentioned, our show dance is a beautiful, epic show dance.”
She added: “We’ve had very good marks through and we know what we’re supposed to be doing, but again you need the practice in order to give it everything. So I am at this moment in time, very frustrated and upset. But again, our main focus is my foot and just making sure that we can make it on Saturday!”
On Wednesday 15th December, it was revealed that AJ had undergone an emergency scan on her foot.
Providing she recovers in time, AJ is expected to return to Strictly Come Dancing alongside Rose Ayling-Ellis and John Whaite, who are the other finalists in the series.
The Strictly Come Dancing 2021 final is on Saturday, 18th September. Check out more of our Entertainment coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.