Strictly star's nose is broken

James Jordan is nursing a broken nose after his wife Ola bust it in Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals.

The show professional received an accidental kick in the face as they practised a group dance for the show's return.

But after seeing medics, James is planning to carry on with Friday's show, in which he will make his debut with celebrity partner Denise Van Outen.

He was determined to carry on with the programme for the sake of Denise, who missed her beloved grandfather's funeral to train and hoped to appear in his "honour". A spokeswoman for the show said he was "insisting" on going ahead with the show for Denise's sake.

"Denise really wants to dance in honour of her grandfather," the spokeswoman said.

The pair have been practising a waltz to With You I'm Born Again by Billy Preston and Syreeta.

James has not been bandaged up but there is bruising around his nose and show bosses are expecting him to have black eyes by Saturday's show.

Another pro from the series, Artem Chigvintsev, received a minor injury when he had a whack in the face from Flavia Cacace's elbow. But he is thought to have escaped with just bruising to his cheek.

The latest injuries follows last week's accident in which Aliona Vilani suffered a hairline crack to the bone in her ankle. She has had to drop out of the show for up to a month and producers had to draft in a replacement from the US, Iveta Lukosiute.

Strictly has its first live show of the series on Friday, with an hour-long edition featuring half the couples. The remainder will appear in a further show on Saturday.