Abbie Quinnen, the dancer and girlfriend of former Strictly Come Dancing pro AJ Pritchard, has assured fans she’s on the mend after she suffered severe burns while filming a social media video.
Earlier this year, Abbie was taken to hospital when she and AJ were filming a “life hacks” video for their YouTube channel, involving fire and an empty bottle of wine which exploded while they were recording.
After news of the accident was published by The Sun on Sunday, Abbie has now broken her silence in a statement on Instagram.
She wrote: “I am sad I have been absent in the last few weeks and haven’t posted much with AJ, we so desperately wanted to be able to share daily vlogs with you all but unfortunately I have had an accident.
“Whilst we were attempting to create a glass bottle into a vase following a YouTube tutorial it went terribly wrong and it resulted in me incurring injuries and burns requiring continuous hospital treatment over the past seven weeks.
“I really need you all to be careful with what you’re doing and if you’re copying any YouTube videos. I will be OK, I love you all. (sic)“
She added: “I also want to say a massive thank you to the nurses and doctors and the Chelsea & Westminster burns unit for their incredible care and treatment.”
The Sun reported that Abbie suffered third-degree burns after the flaming bottle exploded in her face, setting her hair and clothing alight.
AJ and his brother Curtis Pritchard drove her to hospital, and she’s since undergone three skin grafts and made as many as 20 visits to a doctor.
AJ also spoke about the accident on the latest episode of his and Curtis’ podcast, thanking fans for “all the love and support and the kind messages”.
He said: “I know we haven’t replied to everybody but, yeah, thank you for that. And we will talk about it further down the line when we both feel comfortable.
“Just thanks for that love. It means a lot, your support, keeps us positive and keeps us all going.”
Abbie and AJ began dating in 2018, while the latter was still serving as a professional dancer on Strictly.
He stepped down from the show in 2020 to explore other opportunities in TV, and has since made an appearance on last year’s series of I’m A Celebrity.