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Stefan Dennis has revealed that he made a request to show bosses amid his unexpected withdrawal from Strictly Come Dancing. The Neighbours legend's journey on the hit dance show got off to a solid start alongside his professional dance partner, reigning champion Dianne Buswell. But Stefan was recently struck by illness, which forced them to miss week three of the BBC One dance contest earlier this month, before they made a triumphant return to the ballroom on Saturday (October 18) night. The pair were seen giving it their all during a Charleston to Dance Monkey by Tones And I, which many judges said was the pair’s best dance. They scored 26 out of a possible 40 for their routine, their highest of the competition so far, and fans were floored by Dianne's moves, especially as she's the first known person to compete on the show while pregnant. However, it was then confirmed on Monday (October 20) that their time on the show had come to a sudden end after a 'devastated' Stefan was forced to pull out of the series after injuring his calf during his comeback routine. In a statement, the actor said: "This morning I woke up to the most disappointing day of my time in my Strictly journey. Just when I had finally gained the confidence to do well with my dancing in the competition and achieve more great dances along the way, I was told that on Saturday I had torn my calf so significantly that I am now forced to withdraw from the show. "I can’t tell you how devastated I am to have to leave so prematurely especially as there has been, and still is, so much love and support from everyone for both Dianne and myself." He added: "I owe both the Strictly family and Dianne a massive debt of gratitude for giving me the opportunity to fulfil my dream of being able to dance with my wife. (When my leg is better)." Now, Stefan has admitted to feeling guilty for pulling out just a day after viewers watched former England rugby star Chris Robshaw and his partner Nadiya Bychkova get voted out - and even asked producers if Chris could return to the competition in his place. "I said they should keep Chris in now that I’m going but they said they couldn’t do that - once you’ve gone, you’ve gone," the 66-year-old revealed to the Mirror. Stefan, who is the oldest in this year’s competition but who keeps himself fit and active with extreme sports in his downtime, said he doesn’t know precisely when the muscle damage was done. "It happened at the end of last week, it was nothing specific, we’d been training as usual and it just started hurting," he shared. "When I got it checked, they said I’d ripped my calf muscle. "I got through Saturday night’s show on a truck load of painkillers. They took the edge off a little bit - but not much! I’m still not sure how we got through that routine."
