Stefan Dennis is set to return for this year’s Strictly Come Dancing final.
The 66-year-old actor was forced to withdraw from the BBC’s Latin and Ballroom competition on Monday, October 20, after tearing his calf muscle while performing the Charleston on Saturday, October 18. Despite the injury, Stefan and his 36-year-old professional dance partner, Dianne Buswell, will rejoin the show for the finale on December 20.
The Neighbours star admitted, “It’s a bit of a s******, but I’ll be back at the end of the year, for the final.”
Stefan, who made it through the Saturday performance on a “truckload of painkillers,” has confirmed he will not be returning to Strictly in 2026, saying, “I’ve done too much to come back and try again next year.”
He explained that he isn’t certain exactly when the injury occurred. “It happened at the end of last week. It wasn’t from anything specific — we’d been training as usual, and it just started hurting,” Stefan said. “When I got it checked, they told me I’d ripped my calf muscle. I got through Saturday night’s show on a truckload of painkillers. They took the edge off a little, but not much! I’m still not sure how we managed that routine.”
Stefan Dennis shared that he had hoped he could continue on Strictly Come Dancing, but doctors insisted he needed complete rest for his injured muscle. “So that’s me done, unfortunately,” he said.
The injury has also meant he is temporarily barred from flying back to Australia to see his wife, Gail, and their three children. Stefan explained, “I can’t fly for another two weeks because of the risk of deep vein thrombosis, which my wife is understandably upset about. I just feel like I’ve let everyone down. They all say I haven’t, of course, and the pros understand injuries, but it’s still disappointing to leave this way. Everything was going so well. You want to go out because the viewers have decided, not because of an injury.”
Stefan also felt guilty about withdrawing the day after retired England rugby player Chris Robshaw, 39, and his professional partner Nadiya Bychkova, 36, were eliminated. He even asked producers if Chris could return in his place but was told, “Once you’ve gone, you’ve gone.”