AJ Pritchard: Lauren Steadman wishes Strictly star gets his 'smile back' after club attack

AJ Pritchard, 24, and his brother Curtis Prtichard, 22, were reportedly set upon by eight thugs while on a night out in Nantwich, Cheshire on December 27.

The siblings both suffered injuries to the body and face and Curtis is set to undergo an emergency operation to correct the damages he sustained to his knee.

AJ’s Strictly Come Dancing 2018 partner, Lauren Steadman, 25, has now sent the brothers love and support as she uploaded a photo of her and the dancer on her Instagram account.

The Paralympian posted a picture of her and AJ from their time on the BBC One competition.

Lauren said she hopes AJ gets his “smile back soon” in the post.

Beside the image, she wrote: “Hoping my dance partner will get his smile back soon @aj11ace wishing both AJ and @curtispritchard12 speedy recoveries.”

Many of Lauren’s 72,900 followers also showed their support for the brothers by commenting on her upload.

One fan wrote on her post: “l’m sure Lauren will help AJ xx he needs her positivity at the moment which we all know she can give him.”

Another supportive person commented: “Wishing you both a speedy recovery. Always the nice people, but good prevails in the end! Keeeep Smiling.”

A third said: “Hoping they both recover from this physically and mentally. Xxx.”

Meanwhile, AJ’s dancer brother, Curtis, has been forced to pull out of his job on the Irish version on Dancing With The Stars due to injuries from the attack.

Dancing With The Stars confirmed the news on Twitter to their 50,500 followers.

They wrote: “Dancing with the Stars pro-dancer Curtis Pritchard was involved in an incident on 26 December 2018.

“As a result of the injuries sustained, he will not have recovered in time for the launch of the new series, which will air 6 January 2019.”

They continued: “Dancing with the Stars wish Curtis a speedy recovery.

“A replacement for Curtis on the show is currently being arranged by ShinAwiL and we look forward to welcoming Curtis back when he recovers.”

A spokesperson told Express.co.uk on behalf of the Pritchard family: “AJ and Curtis were assaulted whilst on a night out with 2 friends on the 27th December 2018 in an unprovoked attack in Nantwich, Cheshire.

“Curtis is due to undergo an emergency operation in the next few days to correct the damages he has sustained to his knee, he is also recovering from injuries to his eye and face.

“AJ received bruising to his face, arms, body and legs.”

They added: “Statements have been given to Cheshire Police and they are currently undergoing an investigation.”

source: express.co.uk