The Australian singer will miss Saturday’s show on medical advice. She keeps her place in the competition, but loses the week she was best placed to win.
Delta Goodrem has withdrawn from this Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing with a rib injury, four days after topping the leaderboard.
Goodrem and her professional partner Kai Widdrington will not perform during Icons Week on 17 October. The news was announced on It Takes Two, where Ellie Taylor read a statement from the singer, and a Strictly spokesperson said doctors had advised her to rest.
“I’m absolutely gutted that a rib injury means I won’t be able to dance on Strictly this week,” Goodrem said.
“I’ve been loving every second of this experience, so having to sit this one out is heartbreaking. I cannot tell you how much I love being a part of this magical show.”
She added: “I’m going to focus on resting and recovering, and hopefully I’ll be back on that dancefloor very soon.”
The timing is bad in a way the statement does not spell out. On Saturday, Goodrem and Widdrington scored 33 for their salsa, the highest mark of the night and the best any couple has managed this series.
Does Delta Goodrem stay in Strictly Come Dancing?
Yes. Under the show’s rules a couple who withdraw through injury receive a bye, which takes them straight through to the following week without dancing.
That protects her place in the competition but not her momentum. A bye means no new score, no new routine for the judges to build on, and no screen time in a themed week that is one of the most watched of the series.
Whether she returns the following Saturday has not been confirmed. The show has said it hopes she will.
What is Strictly Icons Week?
Icons Week is the second themed show of the 2026 series, on Saturday 17 October, with routines built around famous musicians and cultural figures.
It follows Movie Week, which the BBC moved forward to week two this year so that all fifteen couples could dance a themed routine before anybody was eliminated.
Who is Delta Goodrem?
Delta Goodrem is an Australian singer, songwriter and actress who first became known in Britain in 2002.
British viewers who only know her from Strictly may be surprised by how much of her career happened here. She has had five UK top 10 singles.
| Year | Single | UK peak |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Born to Try | 3 |
| 2003 | Lost Without You | 4 |
| 2003 | Innocent Eyes | 9 |
| 2004 | Out of the Blue | 9 |
| 2005 | Almost Here, with Brian McFadden | 3 |
Her debut album, Innocent Eyes, reached number two in the UK.
She played Nina Tucker in Neighbours from 2002 to 2003, returning for guest appearances including the 2022 finale, and spent years as a coach on The Voice Australia. She has five number one albums in Australia.
Most recently she represented Australia at the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest with Eclipse, finishing fourth.
What health problems has Delta Goodrem had?
Goodrem was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in July 2003, aged 18, and entered remission the following year. In 2018 surgery to remove a salivary gland damaged a nerve and left her unable to control her tongue.
The cancer diagnosis came on 8 July 2003, weeks into the success of Innocent Eyes. She had surgery followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy, stepped away from performing, and wore wigs through the hair loss. “Going through cancer was an extremely hard, confusing time,” she has said.
The second episode is less well known in Britain. The nerve damage from her 2018 surgery paralysed her tongue and took away her ability to speak clearly, let alone sing. She did six months of daily speech therapy and recorded an album through it.
“My livelihood is my sound,” she said at the time. “I still am a bit confused at how it feels a little bit different to sing now.”
Which is some context for a rib injury being described as heartbreaking by someone who has had considerably worse news and kept working.
Where does this leave the Strictly 2026 leaderboard?
Thirteen couples remain. Melanie Walters was eliminated on Sunday, after a dance-off against Shaun Wright-Phillips that split the judges.
Walters, best known as Gwen in Gavin and Stacey, was the second celebrity to leave, after Chris Appleton went out in week two.
With Goodrem sitting out, Icons Week is the first real opening the rest of the field has had. Full dates and times are in our Strictly Come Dancing 2026 schedule.
Your questions
Why is Delta Goodrem not on Strictly this week?
She has a rib injury and has been advised by doctors to rest. She withdrew from Icons Week on 17 October.
Is Delta Goodrem out of Strictly Come Dancing?
No. She receives a bye and stays in the competition, going through to the following week without dancing.
Who is Delta Goodrem’s Strictly partner?
Kai Widdrington.
What was Delta Goodrem’s Strictly score?
She and Widdrington scored 33 for their salsa in week three, the highest score of the series so far.
What is Delta Goodrem’s biggest hit in the UK?
Born to Try and Almost Here both reached number three, her highest UK chart positions.
Did Delta Goodrem have cancer?
Yes. She was diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma in July 2003, aged 18, and entered remission in 2004.
Who left Strictly last weekend?
Melanie Walters, in a dance-off against Shaun Wright-Phillips.