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Daily Record
Daily Record
Entertainment
Daniel Bird & Nicola Croal

Strictly Come Dancing has 'disastrous' start as four celebs fall 'extremely ill' ahead of show

Fleur East has revealed the chaotic week she and her co stars on Strictly Come Dancing had dealt with ahead of the latest live episode of the show.

The singer, who came to fame on The X Factor, is currently coupled up with professional dancer Vito Coppola as they compete on the BBC dancing competition - but said their disastrous week almost caused mayhem on the show, the Mirror reports.

Prior to the live episode at the weekend on Saturday night, Fleur stated a couple of the other dancers had been fighting a nasty flu and were potentially unable to perform in the upcoming episode.

She disclosed on her Hits Radio Breakfast Show - hosted alongside James Barr - that it was a hard week for several contestants including her dancing partner, Vito.

The sax star said: "There were a few mentions on Saturday night, but it was a tough week for a lot of people in the competition.

Kym Marsh was one of the stars that reportedly fell unwell (BBC)

"Hamza [Yassin] was very, very sick, so was Will [Mellor] and so was Kym [Marsh] and we didn't say anything on Saturday but Vito was really ill last week too."

She added: "I got one full day of rehearsal with him." Fleur continued: "Everyone was getting the flu, so, he was out for the count and in bed – he didn't move for two days."

However, Fleur and Vito managed to get some rehearsal time but she was left panicking after she was forced to learn her routine with a different dancer. "As soon as Vito did make it to rehearsals, he was a different height, had a different stance – it was like a brand-new routine I had to learn," she said.

Hamza Yassin appeared poorly during the show as Fleur confirmed he was very ill ahead of the live episode (BBC)
Viewers had reportedly urged Will Mellon to go home after his dancing partner, Nancy shared that he was unwell (BBC)

The hitmaker continued: "In the end, we got about six hours together before production rehearsal on Friday, but I think when you have that added pressure you just pull it out from somewhere.

"We were both like 'right we were in the dance-off last week, we need to just get this done,' he was sweating and everything but somehow, we pulled it together!"

Following the live episode, fans voiced concerns for actor Will Mellor who appeared to be ill which resulted in him having less time to rehearse. The Coronation Street actor had a croaky voice and kept coughing, after he and pro dance partner Nancy Xu took on the Rumba to the track The Joker and The Queen by Ed Sheeran, featuring Taylor Swift.

Nancy referenced how poorly Will had been before fans urged the star to go home and rest up.

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