Anton Du Beke has issued a major Strictly update (Image: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)

Strictly Come Dancing judge Anton Du Beke has issued a huge update about the beloved BBC dance competition now that a second contestant has pulled out of the show due to an injury. At the start of the week, Aussie favourite Stefan Davis withdrew from the competition after he “tore his calf so significantly” that he struggled to make it through Saturday night’s performance (October 18).

The Neighbours star, who had been partnered up with Dianne Buswell, took a break from the show for one week to help recover from the injury, but after last week’s show, he pulled out of the series altogether due to the pain he suffered during the routine. Now, the 59-year-old judge has given fans an insight into what this will mean for the show.

During an appearance on This Morning on Wednesday (October 22), the dancer turned author revealed that due to the star’s exit, there will now only be “three dancers in the final this year.”

He explained: “Stefan sustained a calf injury, and I think he’d been taking pain killers to get through the show, but he couldn’t keep going after Saturday, it was too bad. So that means that there’ll be three finalists this year instead of four, so hopefully nothing else changes.”

The professional dancer added that Stefan is going to “try his best to make it to the final” for the group number, but it entirely depends on his recovery. But Stefan isn’t the only star who was forced to pull out of the show due to an injury. At the start of the series, Dani Dyer also pulled out of the competition due to an injury, which landed her in hospital.

Dani revealed at the time: “I had a fall in rehearsals and landed funny. I thought I had rolled my foot but it swelled up badly over the weekend and after an MRI scan yesterday, it turns out I have fractured my ankle.

“Apparently doing the Quickstep on a fracture is not advisable (!!) and the doctors have said I am not allowed to dance so I’ve had to pull out of the show.”