Strictly's Nick Knowles as you've never seen him before - topless and brooding before DIY SOS fame

Before dancing with Luba Mushtuk on his arm and becoming known for his home improvement expertise, Nick Knowles tried his hand at modelling.

The host, 62, is a contestant on this year's and his journey to the Glitterball was most recently while changing a tyre with his 10-year-old son. But while is now a household name, his early days in the spotlight involved stripping off for the camera.

In two newly-unearthed snaps from 1989, the presenter, then 27, was topless and unrecognisable as he smouldered for a local photographer in Middlesex, exposing a hairy chest.

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In most recent news, Nick Knowles made headlines when he told his Instagram followers he'd hurt himself after strutting on to the Strictly dancefloor the previous day before. Taking to to share the news with his followers after being caught with his arm in a sling, he explained he suffered from a shoulder injury after trying to change a tyre while driving his 10-year-old son to a birthday party in his honour. His participation in the programme had been put into question as a result.

While his condition was assessed, the home improvement expert remained hopeful he'd be able to set foot into the ballroom, giving his fans frequent updates on social media. But this also led him to miss hours of training. After two days of rehearsals, however, just as doubt was morphing into despair, Nick Knowles told his fans that he'd been given the all clear to dance.

However, Strictly fans were adamant they had spotted a sign he was smiling through the pain on Saturday, as he was seen without his sling on the dancefloor. Nick Knowles was seen cradling his arm while judges , , and assessed his performance.

Viewers at home couldn't help but notice that, despite maintaining a smile, Nick had clearly been left in pain by his dance. "#Strictly I think Nick did well with his dance but he looked in pain with his arm at the end. Hope he's ok. Lovely choreography by Luba", one of them wrote on Twitter, now X.

Another exclaimed: "nick is the literal definition of smiling through the pain right now he should’ve definitely sat this out", while a third added: "Definitely looked like Nick was in pain there." One fan was more critical as they commented: "Fair play to Nick he did well considering he had 16 hours but I’m not fully convinced yet!" But this didn't stop Nick and Luba to earn a score of 21.

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