Gareth Malone revealed he suffered a major injury just three weeks before his first live show of The Masked Dancer which left him “black and purple and green”.
On Saturday (September 24), viewers were left utterly gobsmacked after Cactus was unmasked as the award-winning choirmaster, 46, after four weeks on the hugely popular ITV show.
During his time on the series, the singer managed to fully embody the green Mexican wrestler as he threw himself into the role with charisma and energy.
READ MORE:Masked Dancer’s Cactus unmasked as BAFTA winning choirmaster with Royal link
But weeks before he made his TV debut, the dad-of-two suffered a nasty fall down the stairs and twisted his ankle which forced him bow out of vital rehearsals for three weeks.
(Image: ITV)
Now, in an exclusive interview with Daily Star, Gareth explained what it was like learning to dance with an injured ankle.
He revealed: “It was quite dramatic actually. I had an audition to see, ‘What’s he like? Can he move?’ and that went well, and then they said, ‘We’d like you to do it’.
“And then I had my first rehearsal and then I came home and I was quite tired – it’s physically tiring and I had a bad night [sleep].
“I came down the stairs and picked up the mail and there’s five little steps into the kitchen and I fell down the stairs and I twisted my ankle and it went black and purple and green.”
(Image: ITV)
The musician went on to reveal how he had to sneak in a physiotherapist into his London home without his family suspecting something was amiss.
He continued: “Immediately I was like, ‘Oh no!’ [so, I made sure to do] ice and elevation and I had a plethora of straps and harnesses on.
“And I was on the phone to the team and I had to smuggle a physio guy into the studio past the children and everyone by going, ‘Oh he’s coming to do some wiring in my studio’. He came with this massage bed so it must have looked pretty weird.”
(Image: ITV)
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After his dangerous fall, the star was told he would need to take three weeks out of training to rest and recuperate before he returned to the dance studio again.
Gareth went on: “Thankfully, it was okay but I had to have three weeks out at the beginning so I couldn’t do any dancing at all which was so frustrating.
“And then when I got into it I was like, ‘Arghh’ because I was going really slowly and about a week before I was like, ‘Right, I’m actually gonna be okay to do this’ but it was a bit touch and go.
“But I loved it, I absolutely loved it. My team – the three of them – were absolutely amazing to work with and dedicated.”
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
