Aljaz Skorjanec stepped in for Kai Widdrington on Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday night after Kai was forced to withdraw from the show because of illness.
Kai had been due to perform an Argentine Tango with his celebrity partner Delta Goodrem, but the programme confirmed on Friday that he would be unable to dance. Skorjanec, 36, took his place alongside the Australian singer.
As the eighth week of the competition began, Emma Willis and Josh Widdicombe thanked Skorjanec for taking on the routine at short notice. Johannes Radebe also sent his best wishes to the absent professional dancer.
“Hi papi, get well soon please and Aljaz thank you for stepping in!” Radebe said.
A statement shared by Strictly said: “Due to illness, Kai is unable to dance on tomorrow night’s show.”
“Instead, Aljaz will step in to dance the Argentine Tango with Delta. We’re sending Kai all our love and hope he feels better soon.”
Kai’s withdrawal came only weeks after he and Goodrem missed week four, when the singer was ordered to rest after injuring a rib.
Jaime Winstone was meanwhile welcomed back to the dancefloor with her professional partner Carlos Gu after missing the previous week because of injury.
Winstone had torn an abdominal muscle during training and was forced to pull out of the show. She has already survived three dance-offs in the competition.
Willis gave her a “ginormous welcome back”, while Widdicombe told her: “We missed you so much, it feels like you’re back where you belong.”
“It’s great to be back!” Winstone replied.
The week eight performances also saw Graeme Hall and Lauren Oakley score 27 points for their Quickstep to Happy Days. Hall made several mistakes during the routine, which were picked up by the judges.
Dani Dyer and Nikita Kuzmin followed their leaderboard-topping performance the previous week with a Paso Doble to Lorde’s Everybody Wants To Rule The World. Despite praise for the powerful routine, Craig Revel Horwood criticised the choreography for being “littered with illegal lifts”, leaving the pair with 30 points.
John Nellis and Katya Jones scored 31 points for their Jive to Pump It by the Black Eyed Peas, while Tabby Stoecker and Mark Ballas received 30 points for their Viennese Waltz to Avril Lavigne’s I’m with You.
