Strictly star's nose broken by his wife

Denise Van Outen and James Jordan rehearse for the BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing at a LA Fitness studio in London. (PA)

Strictly Come Dancing star James Jordan is nursing a broken nose after his wife Ola bust it in rehearsals today.

The show professional received an accidental kick in the face as they practised a group dance for the show's return.

But after seeing medics, Jordan is planning to carry on with tonight's show in which he will make his debut with celebrity partner Denise Van Outen.

He was determined to carry on with the programme for the sake of Van Outen, who missed her beloved grandfather's funeral to train and hoped to appear in his "honour".

Another pro from the series, Artem Chigvintsev, received a minor injury today when he had a whack in the face from Flavia Cacace's elbow. But he is thought to have escaped with just bruising to his cheek.

A spokeswoman for the show said Jordan was "insisting" on going ahead with the show for Van Outen's sake.

"Denise really wants to dance in honour of her grandfather," the spokeswoman said.

The pair have been practising a waltz to With You I'm Born Again by Billy Preston and Syreeta.

Jordan has not been bandaged up but there is bruising around his nose and show bosses are expecting him to have black eyes by Saturday's show.

The latest injuries follows last week's accident in which Aliona Vilani suffered a hairline crack to the bone in her ankle. She has had to drop out of the show for up to a month and producers had to draft in a replacement from the US, Iveta Lukosiute.

Strictly has its first live show of the series tonight, with an hour-long edition featuring half the couples. The remainder will appear in a further show tomorrow.

PA