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Strictly Come Dancing was recently left hanging in the balance after four of its stars fell ill, it has been revealed.
Contestant Fleur East revealed all when she appeared on her HITS radio show this week.
East, 34, shared that fellow pro dancer Vito Coppola had been down with the flu, along with fellow celebrities Kym Marsh, Hamza Yassin and Will Mellor.
The former X Factor star said: “Hamza was very, very ill, Will and Kym too, and we didn’t say anything on Saturday, but Vito was also very ill last week.
“I had a full day of rehearsal with him.”
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East told listeners he had no choice but to rehearse with a stand-in while Coppola, 30, recovered, leaving the live performances in jeopardy.
She continued, “Everybody had the flu! So he was off for the count and in bed. He didn’t move for two days.”
Fleur East was left “scared” when her professional partner Vito Coppola also fell ill
/ PA
East was left “freaking out” at the time, before the contestants and their dance partner were eventually nursed back to health.
Mellor, 46, was the unlucky one out of the group as he became so ill that he was bedridden for most of the week.
Viewers sympathized with Mellor after his rumba performance at the weekend, after the judges criticized his efforts.
One person tweeted: “Will Mellor is clearly ill. Hats off to getting through the dance. The judges were harsh considering it!”
A second said: “I thought he did really well under the circumstances, and to mark him as having done a full week of training seems a bit harsh.”
“Criticizing Will so harshly when he’s been shut down sick until Thursday is too harsh,” wrote a third.
Another added: “I think Will Mellor did really well considering he doesn’t bless him well, what a sport to even get on the dance floor when he’s sick.”
Despite falling ill, the contestants managed to escape being voted off on Sunday (October 16) as Bros singer Matt Goss got the boot.