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Will Maule & Sophie Finnegan

Strictly fans concerned over Will Mellor's 'purple feet' as he's plagued with injuries

Fans of Strictly Come Dancing have expressed their concern over contestant Will Mellor after he revealed he has been plagued with injuries.

The former Hollyoaks star said his feet have been "turning purple" and has been struggling with a persistent knee problem. Speaking to the One Show, Will said his body is being held together with "sticky tape", the Mirror reports.

Will, 46, said: "It’s been a tough, tough, week. It’s another dance you have to learn, another skill you have to learn. Saturday’s coming no matter what you do so you’ve got to put the work in.

Read more: Strictly's Helen Skelton says end of 8-year marriage left her 'battle-hardened'

"My) knees are bad but my feet are purple. I don’t think that’s normal. (My) knees are like a Blue Peter project, I’ve got that much sticky tape and all that on them just holding (my body) together."

He added: "It’s not for old people this show, so my body doesn’t know what’s going on. We're all worried about your knees," said host Alex Jones."

Will and his partner Nancy Xu are set to perform the Quickstep on Saturday's show, accompanied by Soda Pop by Robbie Williams featuring Michael Bublé.

Appearing on Wednesday's Strictly spin-off show 'It Takes Two', Will admitted he is struggling to keep up with the physical demands of the show. The actor said he was "knackered" and appeared weary when talking about performing the fast-paced Quickstep this week.

As the soundtrack blasted in the studio, he quipped: "Seriously, it makes me knackered even listening to the song! The clue's in the title with the Quickstep! I took my shoes off the other day, they were purple! I was like, 'Is this normal? Is it normal?'"

He continued: "It's absolutely knackering, but, there's a big but here - I love it! It's just you know, I'm a shadow of my former self today because I've had three days of that, running around.

"She [Nancy] said, 'You're a swan, underneath your legs are like this'", as he pedalled his hands up and down. "Loads of character, really fun, I'm enjoying it, it's just tiring."

Will and Nancy found themselves in eighth place on the leaderboard last week with a score of 32. For Halloween Week, the pair danced a Cha Cha to Mama Told Me Not To Come.

Read next:

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  • Strictly's Kym Marsh suffered 'panic attack' as rehearsals called to halt
  • Ben Shephard left in tears by contestant on Ninja Warrior UK set
  • I'm A Celebrity line-up 'confirmed' as 11 stars head Down Under
  • Gorka Marquez 'broken' by Strictly training with Helen Skelton
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