Strictly star Nancy Xu’s ‘neck’ injury explained

Professional dancer Nancy Xu sparked concern from Strictly Come Dancing viewers on Saturday night after they spotted a small amount of blood running down her neck following her performance with celebrity contestant Les Dennis. 

The pair took to the dance floor with a fabulous Tango to ‘Don’t You Want Me’ by The Human League, which earned them a respectable 16 points from the judges. 

While fans praised the pair for their dance, some were left a little distracted by Nancy’s injury and took to Twitter, now X, to express concern for the star. 

One person wrote: “What happened to Nancy’s neck? #Strictly,” while another added: “Is Nancy ok, she seemed to be holding cotton wool to her neck off camera in Claudia’s area and she moved it quick when she was on screen and she seemed to have blood on her neck?”

A third viewer tweeted: “What happened to Nancy? Looks like her neck is bleeding.”

Thankfully, fans needn’t worry about Nancy as HELLO! understands that the dancer had a small cut from her earring and is fine. 

© BBC

While Nancy and Les delighted viewers with their performance, it was Nigel Harman and his partner Katya Jones who won the day. 

The pair closed the show with an epic Paso Doble and topped the leaderboard with a whopping 32 points. Watch the routine in the video below. 

While Anton Du Beke told the EastEnders star that he “stole the night”, head judge Shirley Ballas said the actor was “one to beat”.

Craig Revel Horwood added: “I tell you what I wouldn’t want to be the competition with you around, darling. That was the dance of the night!”

© Guy Levy

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Legendary broadcaster Angela Rippon also impressed the judges with her Cha Cha Cha, which Craig said was “jaw-dropping”. 

It looks like this year’s competition is going to be a tight one as four celebrities tied in second place on the leaderboard. Amanda Abbington, Layton Williams, Bobby Brazier and Ellie Leach all scored 29 points on Saturday, with both Angela and tennis star Annabel Croft just one point behind. 

© Guy Levy

While Les may have found himself at the bottom of the board with 16 points, he’ll be able to prove himself with his second routine on Saturday and raise his score before the first elimination on Sunday.

Why isn’t Strictly Come Dancing on this Sunday?

Strictly won’t air on Sunday 24 September as no celebrities will be going home this week. 

The results show usually airs every Sunday, however, there is no voting during the first live show and so no eliminations. 

© Guy Levy

With no results show, it means that all of the contestants will have two full weeks of rehearsal before the public gives their verdict. 

Strictly Come Dancing continues on Saturday 30 September at 6.20pm on BBC One. The results show will air the following day at 7.15pm.