Australian singer Delta Goodrem has revealed that a fractured rib forced her to miss a planned meeting with Queen Camilla and a week of the BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' competition.
Goodrem, 41, made a notable return to the ballroom this week, earning the first perfect score of the season for her rumba with professional partner Kai Widdrington. Despite her strong comeback, she stated that she is approaching her participation in the show on a day-by-day basis as she continues to recover.
She believes the injury occurred during rehearsals for a salsa performance, where she and Widdrington, 31, were attempting numerous lifts. "I had gone through trying so many lifts. I’ve really jumped into this incredible experience with everything I’ve got, like I do in life," Goodrem explained. "It was at the end of the night that the rib decided it had had enough and it was done."
When asked about missing the royal engagement, Goodrem told The Mail on Sunday, "I didn’t, no. Last week I missed out on a lot of wonderful things that were happening. It was unfortunate that it was that week, that there were a couple of wonderful things in the calendar. But that’s okay. I accept this as life and you’ve just got to keep moving forward."
Goodrem and Widdrington performed their rumba to Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" after receiving clearance from doctors. The performance earned praise from the judges, with Anton Du Beke calling it his "favourite dance of the series by a million miles" and Craig Revel Horwood describing it as "totally and absolutely gorgeous."
Revel Horwood awarded a seven, Motsi Mabuse a nine, and Shirley Ballas an eight. Du Beke gave a ten, bringing their total to 34 points. This placed them second on the leaderboard behind Olympic skeleton champion Tabby Stoecker and Mark Karmalita, who received 37 points for their Couple's Choice dance.
The show also experienced a scoring error, with an on-screen graphic incorrectly displaying a seven for Lacey Turner and Vito Coppola's tango, when head judge Shirley Ballas had awarded a six. Host Emma Willis corrected the mistake live, confirming the correct total score was 28.
Goodrem also expressed interest in performing music from her homeland, potentially including a song by fellow Australian pop star Kylie Minogue. Both singers gained early fame on the Australian soap opera "Neighbours."