Former Strictly Come Dancing professional James Jordan has dropped a major hint that may have foreshadowed La Voix’s withdrawal from Blackpool Week.
The professional dancer, who competed on the programme from 2006 to 2013 with his wife Ola Jordan, was partnered with celebrities including Alex Jones, Vanessa Feltz, Gabby Logan and Denise van Outen during his time on the show.
Since departing the series, James hasn’t held back when sharing his views on the BBC One dance contest, which has already witnessed three contestants withdraw this year, with another unable to take part in Blackpool Week.
Earlier this week, it emerged that La Voix, who is breaking new ground as the main competition’s first Drag Queen contestant, would be sitting out the upcoming live show following a heartbreaking injury.
View 6 Images La Voix has been forced to miss Blackpool Week after a devastating injury(Image: PA)
The BBC confirmed in a statement that she had received medical advice to rest, though she and partner Aljaz Skorjanec would progress straight through to the following week, reports the Mirror.
La Voix said: “Due to an injury, I’ve been advised that I’m unable to perform, and my heart truly breaks knowing I won’t be dancing in such an iconic venue.
“Aljaž and I have worked incredibly hard, and we were so excited to share our routine with everyone. I am devastated not to be joining the rest of the cast on that famous dancefloor, but my focus now is on recovery.”
View 6 Images La Voix wore flat shoes during their Couple’s Choice(Image: BBC/Guy Levy) Article continues below
The performer later confirmed they were dealing with a bone bruise caused by wearing heels, revealing in an Instagram video: “It’s where my toe joint meets my foot, so it’s like a deep bone bruise, which if I keep working on could become a stress fracture, which obviously means a broken foot.”
Recovery from the fracture would take six to eight weeks, with La Voix describing that possibility as “awful”, though fortunately the injury has been identified early.
“I’m icing, keeping my foot elevated and resting as much as I can,” she told fans, expressing how “gutted” she was about missing this week and the uncertainty surrounding her return for the remainder of the series.
James has now revealed a significant hint that La Voix was already struggling with the injury during her previous live performance.
View 6 Images La Voix has yet to confirm if she’ll have to withdraw from the competition completely(Image: BBC)
Speaking exclusively to Reach PLC on behalf of Freebets, where he serves as the entertainment betting expert, he explained: “I feel sorry for them because I saw last week that she was wearing flats in the dance. So clearly she had an issue with her ankle or something like that, that’s what I’m surmising
“And they’ve pulled out of this week, and the whole VT was about them getting to Blackpool. I know how much they were excited about going there.
“So clearly she’s done something bad enough to stop her going to Blackpool, and the fact that it was so important to them.”
He did, however, call for greater transparency regarding the competition rules after La Voix and Aljaz received a bye to the next live show, explaining: “In my opinion, I’ve got nothing against La Voix and Aljaz, because I love them, I think they’re brilliant, but it’s still a competition at the end of the day, there needs to be more clarity on what the rules are.
View 6 Images James Jordan, pictured with Vanessa Feltz, starred on the show between 2006 and 2013(Image: PA)
“What are the rules? Tell us what the rules are? At what point can you not get a bye through to the next round? Or maybe next year, for example, make it a proper competition and say, if you get injured and pull out, you’re out of the competition and we have no elimination that week.”
He added: “The rules just need to be more clear. And my personal feeling is it should be that if you don’t dance one week, you’re out of the competition, and there’d be no elimination that week, which means it stays exactly the same.”
La Voix is yet to confirm whether medical advice may lead to her complete withdrawal from Strictly, or if she’ll be fit to perform next week.
View 6 Images James Jordan, pictured with Alex Jones, is a former professional on Strictly(Image: PA)
Speaking on It Takes Two recently, she revealed: “This has been ongoing since the Foxtrot week, I.T. was when I had a little niggle in my foot, hence why there were some comments about me being flat-footed in the famous heel turn and toe turn.
“I was thinking, ‘This will be fine, this will be fine’. And it got gradually worse and worse, until on Saturday, we had to change shoes. I couldn’t wear heels for the Couple’s Choice; I had to wear those awful flat shoes.”
She continued: “We tried on Monday to learn this week’s dance, and it was really clear that I was really struggling [and] in pain. So, we’ve just had to be professional and call this, and hopefully with some rest, I can get back.”