Dancing with the Stars contestant leaves ballroom on a stretcher after horror injury

A Dancing With the Stars contestant could not compete in the latest heat of the ABC competition after it emerged that she had been carried out of the ballroom on a stretcher. Actress Elaine Hendrix, 54, has been paired up with professional dancer Alan Bersten on the 34th season of the hit show, which is the US version of Strictly Come Dancing.

But when hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro were introducing the couples set to take to the stage on Tuesday night, it was revealed that Elaine would not be in the line up having sustained an injury in rehearsals earlier that day. Alfonso explained: "Right now, she's at the hospital and being assessed."

Viewers were reassured that Elaine and Alan are 'still in the competition.' and judges instead reviewed footage from their rehearsals to determine their score. It was revealed in the episode that Elaine had suffered an injury on her ribs, but would still be eligible to compete next week provided she is well enough and survived the public vote.

In the end, it was reality star Jen Affleck and Jan Ravnik who were sent home after losing the public vote.

As part of Halloween week, Elaine and Alan had been rehearsing the Argentine Tango to Bad To The Bone. The track was famously used in a scene in The Parent Trap, in which Elaine starred as scheming gold-digger Meredith Blake opposite Lindsay Lohan as a pair of estranged twins who meet at summer camp.

Elaine then updated her Instagram followers with a video message where she spoke from her hospital bed. She said: "So obviously I'm not in the ballroom, I injured my ribs during Defying Gravity and today they just seized up. The doctor has said that after a day or two of rest I should be able to continue, which is exactly what I'm gonna do.

"I wanna dance! So, Alan is holding down the fort, he's amazing, he's awesome. I'm so excited for this routine, you'll get to see it in its rehearsal form."

During the show, Alan appeared with an update having spoken to the actress. He said: "I spoke to Elaine. She's determined to come back and perform next week if we are fortunate enough to make it. The doctors have cleared her. I'm so proud of you. I will see you soon." In the end, Elaine and Alan were granted a score of 32 after each judge awarded them eight points each for their efforts.

After the news broke about Elaine's injury, Alan, who has been on the show since 2015 and competed with singer Jessie James Decker and Britney Spears ' sister Jamie Lynn Spears amongst others, took to Instagram to send his support.

Speaking in a video posted to his Instagram Story, he said: "Hello everyone, first and foremost, I wanna say, Elaine, I love you and I'm so proud of you and I know you're gonna be back better than ever really soon. Everyone else, please vote for us, Elaine is so incredible, I love her so much and your votes would mean so much to us."

Alan then gave another update about Elaine's condition, telling Extra: "I'm wishing her the speediest of recoveries I know that she is cleared to dance for next week, so we will be back next week and it's just about pain management now."

As well as her role as the antagonist in the 1998 remake of the Hayley Mills classic, Elaine is also known for starring in the TV series Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll, and played Alexis Colby Carrington, the part made famous by Dame Joan Collins, in the revival of Dynasty from 2019 until 2022. She's also a prominent figure on the website Cameo, where she recreates her signature role of the Disney villain for her fans in personalised videos, and reunited with Lindsay Lohan to appear in Freakier Friday earlier this year.

When asked about signing up for Dancing With The Stars, Elaine explained that she jumped at the chance because she saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

She told the National Desk: "I’ve never done ballroom. The whole experience for me is why I wanted to do it. I don’t know that I’d ever get this opportunity at any other time in my life. So, I had to say yes when they asked me."

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