Johnny Ball gets new dancing partner for Strictly

Current 2011 Strictly Come Dancing winning dancer Aliona Vilani, who triumphed with McFly musician Harry Judd, has had to withdraw from the latest series after suffering an injury.

Vilani has a fractured right ankle, and isn’t expected to be able to perform for up to 14 days, Strictly Come Dancing returns next week for its 2012 competition hosted by Bruce Forsyth and Tess Daly leaving her unable to take part in the first few weeks of live episodes.

74-year-old TV presenter Johnny Ball had been left to ‘practice dance moves’ on his own after the incident which happened during training for the BBC One series.

“I’m so upset. This is so unexpected and so horrible,” she told the BBC, adding “It happened so fast and I was in so much pain.”

Producers have today announced they are bringing in a replacement partner for Ball from the American version of fellow dance contest, So You Think You Can Dance?

32-year-old Iveta Lukosiute from Lithuania is the current world champion in ten different dance techniques.

“I am super excited to come to the UK and join the Strictly Come Dancing team,” a statement via the BBC reads, “When I found out that I will be dancing with Johnny Ball, I looked him up online.” She continued.

Strictly Come Dancing returns to BBC One on October 5^th. Johnny Ball is one of the oldest contestants to take part in the contest. His daughter, Zoe Ball, hosts the series’ sister show, It Takes Two.