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What happened to Curtis Pritchard during attack and what has AJ's brother said about the assault?
11 June 2019, 14:30
The Islander, who's been referred to as a "ray of sunshine" by his fellow co-stars was attacked last year outside a nightclub.
Love Island 2019's Curtis Pritchard is a strong favourite to win the series already, and is currently coupled up with Amy Hart.
The 23-year-old from Shropshire was already fairly well known prior to heading into the villa, partly due to his role on Dancing With The Stars Ireland and partly due to his brother being Strictly star, AJ Pritchard.
Read more: What do we know about professional dancer Curtis Pritchard?
What happened to Curtis?
Last December, Curtis and AJ were out at a nightclub in Cheshire called Nakatcha when they were attacked.
It was a brutal attack which resulted in Curtis needing serious knee surgery and having to pull out of Dancing With The Stars Ireland 2019.
He was left unconscious with bruising all over his face.
Brother AJ was also left with minor injuries, and although he didn't need surgery his whole body was covered in bruises.
What has the Love Island star said about the attack?
Speaking to an Irish radio station, he explained that as soon as the attack happened people were expressing concert about his face: "I said, ‘My face is fine but I can’t walk'. A knee is a major area when it comes to my expertise."
He added: “Luckily, nothing had happened [to my face and head] except for a lot of swelling.
“Obviously I had to have an operation to remove the meniscus, I had a flipped cartilage and then basically keyhole surgery.
“It’s disturbing to know this does happen everywhere and it has to stop. In some situations, some people don’t come out of it.”
Speaking to The Sun, AJ said his brother “saved his life” after the unprovoked attack.
He said: “Curtis risked his own dancing career to save mine as he threw himself in front of the attackers so they couldn’t get to me.
“He was thinking of both my dancing career with my legs and my TV career with my face.
“He tried to protect me and in doing so saved my life and my legs from danger.”
