Strictly Come Dancing viewers were in for a treat last night (December 2) as it was the anticipated musicals week.

Coronation Street actress Ellie Leach and Vitto Coppola opened the show as they performed a quickstep to the song Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

One of the biggest moments of the night saw Layton Williams scoring a perfect 40 after his dramatic paso doble to Backstage Romance from Moulin Rouge! The Musical with Nikita Kuzmin.

But sadly, before the show aired on Saturday, Strictly announced that Casualty favourite Nigel Harman had to withdraw from the competition.

A statement from a BBC spokesperson, posted on social media site X, said: “Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from Strictly.”

A post by @bbcstrictly on Instagram added: “Unfortunately, Nigel Harman and Katya Jones have had to withdraw from the competition.

“We wish Nigel a speedy recovery and they both will be very much missed by our entire Strictly family.

Why is there no public vote or elimination on Strictly Come Dancing this week?

Strictly fans will have noticed there is no public vote tonight, meaning there is no elimination.

At the beginning of the quarter-final show, host Claudia Winkleman said: “As you can see we only have four couples. Unfortunately Nigel has sustained an injury which means he is unable to perform in tonight’s show and has had to withdraw from the competition.”

Tess Daly added that the Strictly team were "as devastated as he is."

Claudia continued: “That means there will be no public vote tonight and no elimination this weekend.”

Tess clarified that the judges would still be scoring the dance and their votes would be carried over to next week.

What happened to Nigel Harman on Strictly?

Nigel revealed he ended up in hospital after sustaining his rib injury while practising a jump for this week’s routine.

He told Claudia: “I was leaping off a rostrum and was about to be caught by some very handsome men and as I flew, I was Peter Pan and as I landed, I was in A&E.

“I’ve done something to my rib basically and it’s quite painful. I’m a little bit high on painkillers as well, but I’m having a lovely time.”

Nigel added that he has “loved” his time on Strictly and admitted the reality he would no longer compete in it had not sunk in yet.

Praising his professional partner Katya, he went on to say: “The only reason I’m standing here is because of all the work you’ve put into me. You challenge me, you push me, you support me, you make me laugh. And then you do extraordinary things on the floor with choreography and creativity. But most of all, you’re just part of me now.”

An emotional Katya said she had “absolutely loved every moment of us creating magic on a dancefloor.”

She added: “I know the reasons you did this, for your daughter and for your parents and especially missing out on this number, I know your parents would be very, very proud of you. And I hope you got something out of this that you’re going to cherish forever in your broken rib.”