Advertisement

Robert Webb withdraws from Strictly Come Dancing due to 'ill health'

Robert Webb has pulled out of Strictly Come Dancing due to health concerns.

The Peep Show star recently went public with the news that he underwent emergency surgery early last year after doctors discovered he had a congenital heart defect. After having the open-heart surgery, Webb overhauled his lifestyle and believed he was the fittest he'd ever been in his life when he signed up for the dancing show.

However, in a statement on Wednesday, the comedian revealed that he had "bitten off way more" than he could chew.

"I'm extremely sorry to have to announce that I'm withdrawing from Strictly Come Dancing due to ill health," his statement began. "Two years ago, I had open-heart surgery and although I believed I was fit enough to take on Strictly and its demanding schedule, it became clear that I had bitten off way more than I could chew for this stage in my recovery. I had begun to feel symptoms that led me to seek an urgent consultation with my heart specialist, and it was her view that it would be better for the sake of my health to step back from the show.

"I'm proud of the three dances that Dianne Buswell and I managed to perform and deeply regret having to let her down like this."

The comedian went on to thank his professional partner, the viewers at home, and his fellow heart patients for their support.

"I think perhaps I was too eager to impress them," he confessed. "They will know that recovery doesn't always go in a straight line, and I hope they're not too disappointed that I ran into the limits of my resilience much sooner than I'd hoped."

Webb also tweeted that he was "very sad to be leaving" and his Peep Show co-star David Mitchell re-shared the post and joked, "And to those asking if I'll be stepping in to replace him: I'm afraid not. I prefer to dance like nobody's watching. And I can only do that if nobody's watching."