We all know Strictly Come Dancing is a physically arduous show, but this is a bit next level.
Viewer favourite Danny John-Jules has revealed how he collapsed during rehearsals last week.
The 58-year-old actor was interviewed on Strictly spin-off, It Takes Two, about the intense prep he did for his Jive this weekend – for which he was awarded a 10 from the judges.
Presenter, Zoe Ball asked him if it was true that he’d still been struggling to master the moves on the Thursday evening.
Shaking his head beside his pro dance partner, Amy Dowden, Danny said: “I haven’t moved like that since… oh, I don’t know, a long time!
“And so you’re worried about not slowing down in the Jive. If you slow down, it’s very obvious and it’s a bit of a no-no. And that was my main worry. So I just kept having to do it.”
The Red Dwarf star added: “I did collapse after the second run on the tech-run on Friday.”
Zoe, 47, said she was, “really not surprised by that,” adding: “How exhausting was that, Danny? It was full on!”
But producers were apparently unsympathetic to his funny turn. The TV star added: “The floor manager looked down at me looking up at the ceiling and said, ‘Do you want to do another one?’
“The knees were screaming louder than Amy. She was screaming and my knee was screaming afterwards.”
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Despite the dramatic rehearsals for the BBC competition, the pair had an incredible weekend, sailing through to next week’s stage.
After their dance to Flip, Flop and Fly, Darcey Bussell gave them the 10, while the other judges handed out nines.
She told the pair: “I have to get up and applaud you, it was extraordinary.”
Guest judge Alfonso Ribeiro – who was standing in for Bruno Tonioli – told them: “You came out, you had fun, that was flying right there. The feet were sharp, the energy was there.
“You got down into the floor, Mother Earth is where the power comes from, you used it that time, baby.”
Amy took to Instagram to thank her new favourite judge.
She wrote: “Massive thank you to @therealalfonsoribeiro therealalfonsoribeiro for being so encouraging this weekend. An honour to perform for you! @dannyjohnjules @bbcstrictly #week5 #dance #jive #happy”.
The Welsh dancer also paid tribute to her hard-working partner.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpPYBlRlpRB/?hl=en&taken-by=amy_dowden
Beside pictures from the show, she wrote: “THANK YOU SO MUCH 🙏 we are so thrilled and excited to be through to Halloween 🎃👻🙏 massive well done @dannyjohnjules 😘😺 #teamdamy #excited #grateful #thankyou #halloween #strictlycomedancing”.
Viewers were thrilled, commenting: “We loved your routine so much!!”
Another added: “Brilliant you pair of legends 💕”.
A third wrote: “Thought you and Danny were fab on saturday night. Can’t wait for the weekend and to see your dance for Halloween. Hope you go all the way and make Wales proud.x”.
The actor returned the favour, writing on Instagram: “Thank you to @amy_dowden for making me #JiveAlive and keeping me #FiveAlive @bbcstrictly It was all worth it for her reaction at the end of the number! Peace And Love to all who voted for us.”
Meanwhile, radio DJ Vick Hope and her dance partner Graziano di Prima left the show.
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We’re loving Danny on the show, and that Jive was amazing. But c’mon, man, we don’t want any actual deaths on this year’s series…
Do you think he’s pushing it too far? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix and let us know what you think.