Dani Dyer's BBC Strictly Come Dancing replacement set to be Waterloo Road star

A Waterloo Road star is said to be replacing Dani Dyer on Strictly Come Dancing. The reality star announced on Tuesday that she had been forced to withdrawfrom the BBC dancing competition, before the first live show, after she suffered a nasty injury.

The star, who found fame on Love Island, told fans that she had fractured her ankle in rehearsals and had to withdraw on medical grounds, leaving her "heartbroken". Dani, 29, had been lined up to dance with professional star Nikita Kuzmin on the programme, which will air its first live show this weekend.

But reports claim that her spot on the show is already close to being filled by a replacement. Tillie Amartey, who previously appeared on the 2023 Christmas Special of Strictly, is reportedly already in talks to join the programme. The actress, 22, is said to have been making trips from her home in Leeds to London to meet with executives.

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"The feeling is that if she is filling the shoes vacated by Dani, the programme needs another young, glam woman to take her spot," a source said. They went on to tell The Sun: "There is already an imbalance in the genders among the celebrities as there are nine men taking part and six women. It's essential the number of females taking part doesn’t drop further, and they want to try and maintain a similar balance in terms of the variety of ages too."

They added that Tillie, the niece of Spice Girls singer, Melanie Brown MBE, is "ambitious and hard working" and has made "great strides" in the industry since she first appeared on CBBC's 4 O'Clock Club back in 2016. Since her appearance on the show, Tillie has gone on to appear in the likes of Doctors, The Teacher and Moving On.

But Tillie is best known for playing strong-minded Stacey Neville on the BBC reboot of Waterloo Road, which she joined in 2024. It was for this role that she won Best Breakthrough at the I Talk Telly Awards. When approached by the Mirror about Tillie joining the show, a BBC Spokesperson said: "We don't comment on speculation."

Speaking on Tuesday night, Dani, said: "I had a fall on Friday in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.

"Apparently doing the quickstep on a fracture is not advisable (!!) and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so l've had to pull out of the show. To say I’m heartbroken is the biggest understatement. I am so going to miss dancing with Nikita but will of course be watching closely and cheering all the couples on."

Following the news, Sarah James, Executive Producer, BBC Studios, added: "Dani has brought so much passion, joy and enthusiasm to Strictly, and her partnership with Nikita was off to the most sensational start.

"Everyone on the show is incredibly sad that she's no longer able to compete in this year's series. We send her all our love and best wishes for a swift recovery, and we very much hope to welcome her back to the ballroom in the future."

Reality star Dani was also forced to quit another show in the past after sustaining another injury. In 2018, she had to pull out of ITV2's Survival of the Fittest due to a dislocated shoulder after hurtling down a waterslide headfirst during a challenge.

At the time, she was treated by on-site medics and taken to the hospital for proper treatment a day after entering the programme's lodge in the wilderness. However, she was no longer able to participate in the programme due to the severity of her injury. Speaking about the incident during an interview on Good Morning Britain, Danny Dyer's daughter said: "I tried to put it back in and carry on with the challenge, and it just got worse. It was so bad the pain, it was horrible."

Dani, however, is not the first person to pull out of Strictly this year. Just weeks before the couple's revealing show, Game of Thrones actor Kristian Nairn announced he was withdrawing from the showfor "medical reasons."

The actor and DJ said he made the announcement with a "heavy heart" as he broke the news. In a statement, Kristian said: "With a heavy heart, I have to step back from this season of Strictly Come Dancing due to unexpected medical reasons. I was truly looking forward to the journey, and I'm deeply sorry to disappoint anyone who was looking forward to seeing me on the dance floor.

"Thank you all for your support, and I will be back on my feet very soon, in every sense. Love to all, Kristian." He later commented that he was "under treatment already" after his unexpected departure.

In a further statement, Kristian explained: "I've been given the amazing opportunity of Strictly but sadly I'm having to withdraw. Like so many people at the minute, I have dealing with a high level of stress. And a little bit of grief, if I'm going to be really real. I've always been my mother's son and I have always powered through things like this in the past and any other time of my life actually.

"Honestly, I think I've got a pretty healthy attitude towards stuff like this. I thought I did at least. For the first time, it's manifested physically. And it's caused a spike in my vitals. It's entered an area of concern. I'm a big guy. Always have been, ever since I stepped foot on this earth. So I take my health very seriously, and I do see my doctor all the time. I was checked for the show two weeks before. And everything was fine. So he was happy for me to take part. Please note, I’m ok. I’m under treatment already. And my doctor isn't concerned.

"And after 2-3 weeks I’ll be pretty much back to normal. But sadly I don’t have time for the show now, for all the training and everything like that. And I also don’t want to leave them, you and the other contestants hanging. It’s not really fair. I'm gutted to say the least. I was really looking forward to taking part in this. So the guys in the show, I’m not going to lie, they've been completely understanding. I've honestly felt 100% supported so I'm really grateful for that. So let’s see what happens when I get sorted. I’m going to be taking it easy for now. And I’ll be able to return to work very shortly.

"I was so excited for this. Not only for myself but for the amazing people from my home of Northern Ireland. It’s always been an honour in my weird way to show I’m from NI. I'm sorry if I've let you down in any way but I will continue to do my best. We live in strange crazy times at the minute so please look after yourself, don’t ignore with something that's going on inside your head.

"This is something that I haven’t dealt with before so this is a surprise for me. I always thought I had this. To my fellow contestants, although it was brief, I really enjoyed meeting you. It's a really great bunch of people and I'm really looking forward to watching and seeing how well you all do. Who knows what the future holds? I'm totally still here. Creating in my own haphazard way and trying to be better than ever. And don’t worry guys, I've totally got this. Love you all. Thank you for all the support."

The Mirror has approached Tillie's representative for comment.

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