Strictly's JB Gill nearly had a very different career before horror injury changed everything

JLS star JB Gill could be crowned the winner of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend after taking the competition by storm.

After impressing the judges and viewers at home, the singer has made it all the way to the final and will now battle it out with comedian Chris McCausland, actress Sarah Hadland and former Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri in a bid to lift the prestigious Glitterball trophy.

Of course, Gill shot to fame as part of boyband JLS, who finished as runners up to Alexandra Burke on the fifth series of The X Factor in 2008. Made up of Gill, Aston Merrygold, Marvin Humes and Oritse Williams, the band have enjoyed chart-topping success, scoring five number one singles including 'Beat Again', 'Everybody in Love' and 'She Makes Me Wanna'.

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But long before all that, the now-38-year-old was on a path to a very different career, having excelled at rugby in his youth. Gill even joined London Irish as a teenager and, according to his mother Cynthia, "was on a trajectory to playing professionally".

"Rugby was the main sport in winter [in his secondary school] and he took to that like a duck to water," she explained in a 2022 interview with the Express. "[He was] very focused on entering competitions. The rugby team actually went on tour to different countries."

However, it was during a game on a European tour that Gill suffered a horror ankle injury, which would ultimately see him step away from a sporting career and pursue one of his other main passions.

"It was an injury that practically affected his mobility," Cynthia added. "I think the way that sport is now, an injury like that wouldn't necessarily stop you, but at the time it did sort of slow him down and he was never quite the same.

"I don't know if he didn't trust his ankle as much [but] although he continued to play for school, he felt like going into professional rugby wasn't going to be the avenue for him any longer.

"He was laid up for a while, he was well-bandaged and using something to help him walk for a period of time. It was quite a bad injury, so I think it made him sit down and rethink 'What is it that I want to do and what else can I do?'"

Of course, the rest is history for Gill, who later admitted that the injury setback was "meant to be" as it led him to a hugely successful music career.

"Guys that I played rugby with have gone on and played in the Premiership, first division, second division... so there's no doubt that I might have been able to make a career out of it," he told the Express.

"There are a certain number of spots in terms of players retiring, and new players coming through the ranks. Of course I was one of a number of maybe 15 or 20 boys, so there's no guarantee that even if I hadn't had that injury that I would have gone all the way - but I've got a lot of friends who have gone on to play professionally."

On his injury, he added: "Do I feel like everything happened for a reason to steer me to where I am today? Oh absolutely. I'm a firm believer in that."