Scores of Shropshire viewers cheered on defeated Strictly Come Dancing favourite Ricky Whittle not knowing he had a secret medical condition.

More than 11 million people tuned in to watch the final, which saw underdog BBC sports reporter Chris Hollins win over the public vote to take the crown.

The BBC revealed the show attracted a peak audience of 11.7 million viewers, which represented a 47 per cent share.

Ricky’s father, Harry, who recently moved to Harmer Hill, near Shrewsbury, said the star bravely battled on despite having a hernia.

The star, who was spotted wincing in pain in between dance routines, kept going because he didn’t want to leave the show.

Mr Whittle said: “Richard has had a bad back during rehearsals and he has had hernia injuries. It has been very stressful on the body but Richard is a professional and just worked through it.”

It is believed that Ricky feared Strictly bosses would make him stop dancing if he revealed the truth. The Hollyoaks heartthrob will now receive treatment for his injuries.

After settling in Shropshire a few months ago, Mr Whittle had front row seats for the final in London so he was on hand to offer his commiserations to Ricky after the show.

He saw Ricky take to the dancefloor with his professional dance partner Natalie Lowe as the pair did ballroom battle against BBC presenter Chris Hollins and his dance partner Ola Jordan.