Strictly Come Dancing chaos as four celebs left 'extremely ill' during 'tough week'

Fleur East has opened up about the disastrous week she and her fellow Strictly Come Dancing pals faced ahead of the latest live episode.

The singer, who found fame on The X Factor, is currently competing on the BBC dancing competition with professional dancer Vito Coppola – but, this week, things almost went off course.

Ahead of the live episode on Saturday (October 15), Fleur admitted that several stars were left facing the possibility of not competing in the live show due to illness.

Speaking on her Hits Radio Breakfast Show alongside co-host James Barr, the Sax hitmaker said: "There were a few mentions on Saturday night, but it was a tough week for a lot of people in the competition.

Fleur East revealed four Strictly Come Dancing stars fell ill just days before the live show (BBC)

"Hamza [Yassin] was very, very sick, so was Will [Mellor] and so was Kym [Marsh] and we didn't say anything on Saturday but Vito was really ill last week too."

She added: "I got one full day of rehearsal with him."

Fleur continued: "Everyone was getting the flu, so, he was out for the count and in bed – he didn't move for two days."

However, Fleur and Vito managed to get some rehearsal time but she was left panicking after she was forced to learn her routine with a different dancer.

Kym Marsh was one of the contestants who became ill (BBC)

"As soon as Vito did make it to rehearsals, he was a different height, had a different stance – it was like a brand-new routine I had to learn," she said.

The hitmaker continued: "In the end, we got about six hours together before production rehearsal on Friday, but I think when you have that added pressure you just pull it out from somewhere.

"We were both like 'right we were in the dance-off last week, we need to just get this done,' he was sweating and everything but somehow, we pulled it together!"

Hamza Yassin appeared to be poorly during the live show (BBC)

Viewers had urged Will Mellor to 'go home' after his partner Nancy revealed he'd been unwell (BBC)

Following the live episode, fans voiced concerns for actor Will Mellor who appeared to be ill which resulted in him having less time to rehearse.

The Coronation Street actor had a croaky voice and kept coughing, after he and pro dance partner Nancy Xu took on the Rumba to the track The Joker and The Queen by Ed Sheeran, featuring Taylor Swift.

Nancy referenced how poorly Will had been before fans urged the star to go home and rest up.

Listen to Fleur East on The Hits Radio Breakfast Show every weekday morning from 6am –10am hitsradio.co.uk

Strictly Come Dancing returns live at 6:30pm on Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.