Strictly Come Dancing star Stefan Dennis has been forced to pull out of the BBC show as a statement has been released. The Australian actor, 66, was due to perform alongside professional dancer Dianne Buswell on Saturday night but has been ordered to rest by doctors. A BBC spokesperson confirmed the news in a statement shared on Strictly’s official Instagram page: “Due to illness over the past few days, Stefan Dennis has been advised to rest and, as a result, he will not dance this weekend.
“In line with the rules of Strictly, Stefan and Dianne will receive a bye through to next week when they will hopefully be able to dance again.” Producers added in the caption: “Stefan Dennis won’t be dancing on Saturday night due to illness. We wish him a speedy recovery and will hopefully see him back in the Ballroom with Dianne next week.”
Fans flooded the comments section with messages of support for the Neighbours star, best known for playing scheming businessman Paul Robinson.
“Hope you feel better soon, Stefan — you’ve been brilliant so far,” one wrote, while another added: “The competition won’t be the same without him this week.”
Pregnant star and pro-partner Dianne also shared: “Sending alll my Aussie love steffo. I know how much you wanted to dance.”
No details about his illness have been released.
Stefan’s sudden withdrawal follows a string of setbacks that have rocked the 2025 series. Earlier in the season, Love Island winner Dani Dyer was forced to quit before the first live show after fracturing her ankle in rehearsals.
She was replaced at the last minute by West End performer Amber Davies.
And just days ago, rumours swirled that Vicky Pattison had also dropped out when she and partner Kai Widdrington failed to appear on spin-off show It Takes Two.
The 37-year-old Geordie Shore favourite quickly took to Instagram to clear the air, explaining that both she and Kai had been struck down with the same bug.
“Man, or should I say ‘men’, down,” she told fans. “Huge apologies to anyone expecting to see me and Kai on It Takes Two tonight. Doing all we can to get back to our best and back to the training room asap.”
Alongside her post, Vicky shared a photo of her “recovery kit” — lozenges, cough syrup, ginger shots and oranges — as she battled to shake off the illness.
When speculation continued to mount, she returned online with a smiling selfie: “There seems to have been a bit of a miscommunication! @kaiwidd was poorly earlier in the week and I wasn’t 110%, so we had to pull out of our weekly appearance… that’s it.
“I have not dropped out of Strictly. I’m having a lovely time and really grateful for this experience!”