Strictly’s Nick Knowles forced to fork out thousands on op to walk again after BBC REFUSED to pay up

TV’S Nick Knowles has had to shell out thousands on treatment for his Strictly knee injury — because he was not covered by the BBC show’s insurance.

The DIY SOS star, 62, tore his anterior cruciate ligament in a rehearsal on this year’s series.

It led to him and pro partner Luba Mushtuk, 35, briefly pulling out before later being voted off.

Nick shared pictures and videos over the weekend of himself in a brace with crutches.

He said: “Thank you for all the amazing messages. To answer a few questions . . . the brace helps keep it stable as I recover.

“No, Strictly insurance did not cover the operations. I paid for them myself but I’m hoping they will help with rehab.”

He added that he “couldn’t have done it” without the support of his fiancée Katie Dadzie, 34.

And Nick joked: “In my ­letter to Santa, I did not have two major operations — three knee and one elbow braces, and learning to walk up stairs again — but that’s what he brought me. One of the most expensive Xmas holidays ever.

“But determined to walk normally ready for DIY SOS in February.”

In another post, he shared images of “the lengths you go to in order to get a damaged knee working again”.

They included an “equine knee therapy unit”, pressure leggings, wet cupping and cryogenic cuff.

Nick went on: “I’m taking turmeric, collagen and various other supplements to promote healing.

“Will try anything at this stage to get back moving normally.”

Even before the knee injury, Nick’s time on Strictly had been threatened after he hurt his bicep while changing a car tyre on the motorway. That also needed an op.

After damaging his knee, he and Luba only had a few days to practise their Charleston, which earned a score of 21 from the judges — leaving them in the bottom two.

They then lost the dance-off in October to Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu.

Will try anything at this stage to get back moving normally

Nick Knowles

Nick’s bill is believed to have run into the thousands — with some private ACL ops costing £8,000.

One pal said: “Nick was gutted the injury ­ultimately cost him his time on the show. He was determined to do as well as he could and fought through the pain barrier.

"He did himself proud, but now he faces a long and expensive road to recovery. It’s a bitter pill to swallow.”

Strictly contestants are covered by the show’s insurance, but not for all injuries.

They are also required to have personal insurance. The BBC and Nick were asked for comment.