Craig Revel Horwood suffered a "year of agony" before undergoing a second hip replacement operation.
Craig Revel Horwood
The 'Strictly Come Dancing' judge - who first went under the knife in 2013 - suffered from chronic pain prior to his latest op, which he delayed to star in 'Annie' on the West End.
He said: "Before the operation I spent a year in agony. I had wanted the operation a year ago but doctors wanted to delay and then I was too busy.
"I had 'Strictly', panto and the live tour coming up and then I was offered 'Annie' in the West End, playing Miss Hannigan.
"But it meant dancing, in heels, every night and it was agonising. As the show went on it got more and more painful.
"I had to take pain-killers two hours before every show just so I could dance, and the pain was still excruciating."
Craig now has two titanium hips after going under the knife in May, and admits he couldn't have put the operation off any longer because he was in so much pain.
Speaking to The Sun's Bizarre TV column, he added: "I knew that if I didn't have the operation, I would never be able to dance again.
"Even sitting for a long time in the 'Strictly' judging chair was becoming uncomfortable.
"People had started to notice I was walking with a limp. I couldn't have put up with another year of that pain. It would have stopped me working altogether.
"Some mornings I struggled to get out of bed because of the constant pain in my hips, and the dancing made it so much worse.
"There were days when it was so bad I worried I wouldn't make it through the performance but you know what they say - the show must go on."
Craig underwent his first hip replacement after an X-ray revealed he had developed severe osteoarthritis, which is the most common form of arthritis.
The Australian-born star - whose family has a history of arthritis and osteoporosis - subsequently admitted that years of pushing his body in the dance studio had finally taken its toll.
He said: "It's all those years of can-cans and dropping the splits. Classical ballet can be quite detrimental to your body."
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