Delta Goodrem has been making waves over in the UK with her shimmying and side-stepping on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor — the dancing competition where celebs tackle a new style of dance each week with their professional partner like Dancing with the Stars.
However, despite only being a few weeks in, Delta has announced she’ll need to sit this week out (on doctor’s orders) after getting injured during training with her dance partner Kai Widdrington.
“I’m absolutely gutted that a rib injury means I won’t be able to dance on Strictly this week,” Delta said in her online statement. “I’ve been loving every second of this experience, so having to sit this one out is heartbreaking – especially after the high of Saturday night.”
The 41-year-old has topped the judges’ leaderboard over two consecutive weeks, and she’s been granted a bye week, meaning she can sit this one out and automatically have entry to next week’s show.
“I’m going to focus on resting and recovering, and hopefully I’ll be back on the dance floor very soon.”
Despite this approach being a common rule exercised in moments like this on the show — and many other celebs being granted the same throughout past seasons — some fans are up in arms about it.
While the topic is being debated online, another, even more prevalent conversation has popped up, with some thinking it’s the reason for Delta’s recent downfall.
The miserable history of Delta’s performance dress
On Saturday night, when Delta and Kai danced their salsa to Chaka Khan’s Ain’t Nobody, she wore a sparkly silver dress.
All of the costumes on the show are custom-made by Strictly Come Dancing‘s wardrobe team, and it’s not the first time viewers have seen a dancer shine in it.
TV Presenter AJ Odudu wore the dress back in 2021, and interestingly enough, she was also partnered with Kai.
She was a serious contender to win the show, but was ruled out of the Grand Final due to a torn ligament in her ankle.
She still attended the final but broke down in tears while wearing the dress, sharing how gutted she was to only watch from the sidelines.
The dress was also worn during one of the Strictly Come Dancing arena tours by Nadiya Bychkova, who later went on to be in a relationship with Kai for two years. The relationship reportedly didn’t end well and created behind-the-scenes tension on the show.
Fans fear the gown is “cursed” and Delta was it’s latest victim.
“Is Kai cursed or something when it comes to having good partners? Wishing Delta a speedy recovery,” one fan said, while another warned the Aussie to stay clear of the dress.
“That silver dress is utterly cursed for Kai – first AJ with her injury, sitting crying in it on finals night, then Nadiya wearing it on tour and them ending up with a very toxic end to their relationship and now Delta’s injury. It needs a saging!”
Saging is the practice of burning dried sage or herbs to ‘cleanse’ a space or object of negative energy.
Why Strictly Come Dancing fans want a rule change
Basically, some fans of the show are saying the bye week is “unfair”, allowing one dancer to skip a week while others have to fight for their spot.
“This shouldn’t be allowed,’ one viewer said matter-of-factly, while others said “she’s not a favourite to win” so the injury has worked in her favour.
Guys, c’mon.
She’s been deemed the best dancer twice in a row by a panel of award-winning professional dancers. It’s safe to say she’s not just riding the injury’s coattails.
Other fans jumped to her defence, saying they hope it doesn’t lead to her dropping out of the show.
“This is so devastating! My favourite dancer. I hope this is not a soft launch to her withdrawing,” one said, while another said rib injuries can be seriously painful. “I hope she is able to come back, but jeez, she must be in a lot of discomfort.”
There have been a number of celebs on the show who have been granted a bye week and have ultimately had to walk away from the competition after injuries have prevented them from continuing.
Here’s hoping this isn’t the case for Delta!
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