Strictly’s AJ Pritchard reveals how brother bravely protected him during brutal nightclub attack
"He was thinking of both my dancing career with my legs and my TV career with my face."
By Will Stroude
Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard has revealed how his younger brother Curtis bravely protected him after the pair were violently attacked in a nightclub last weekend.
The pair were out celebrating the festive season in Nantwich, Cheshire on Saturday (29 December) when they were set upon by a large of group of men on the dancefloor, leaving both injured.
The brutal assault forced AJ’s 22-year-old brother Curtis, who also works as a professional dancer, to drop out of next month’s new series of Dancing with the Stars Ireland in order to undergo emergency surgery on his knee.
AJ, who last year became part of Strictly’s first ever same-sex professional dance pairing with Gorka Marquez, has now opened up about the horrific attacked, describing how Curtis attempted to protrect him from the blows raining down upon them.
“He was thinking of both my dancing career with my legs and my TV career with my face,” AJ told The Sun.
“He tried to protect me and in doing so saved my life and my legs from danger.
“I soon realised there were no winners in this scenario. I just wanted us both to come out alive.
“I care more about Curtis than I do about selfies and looking good.”
Recalling the terrifying incident, which is currently being investigated by police, AJ said: “We were dancing as a group and, out of the blue, Curtis was violently pushed from the side.
It all happened so quickly. Suddenly, we were surrounded by about eight blokes.”
“He stuck his arms out to try and stop them and moved in front of me. But we were punched and kicked from all angles. We had no time to defend ourselves, by the time we even put our hands up we were being punched and kicked.
“It was like a scene out of a movie, with all the aggression and violence. Nothing like this had ever happened to us before.
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“I couldn’t even take in the pain from the kicks and punching. I just knew we had to get away.”
Cheshire police have confirmed that a 20-year-old man was arrested and released pending further investigation.