Injury is no barrier to 'Magic Dan' (From Worcester News)

Injury is no barrier to 'Magic Dan'

9:50pm Friday 10th February 2012 in News By Robert Hale

A FORMER Ledbury Rugby Club player who put his sporting career on hold after a serious back injury has staged a remarkable recovery to appear on cult gameshow Winter Wipeout.

Dan Allam, aged 20, of Castle Frome, will star tomorrow at 6.15pm on BBC One, competing for the title of champion and £10,000 prize money.

But two years ago Mr Allam was airlifted to hospital after a bad tackle. Surgeons diagnosed stress fractures to a vertebra and performed a fusion operation, where two bones are fixed together.

He began playing again only to suffer more back injuries, meaning a second operation to install titanium screws in his spine.

“I should never have played again after the first operation,” he said, “but I was young and rugby was so important.

“But after the second op I was told it’s game over, no more contact sports.

“It was very hard to come to terms with that at first, but I’ve done it. I’ve grown up in the process.

“It could have been a lot worse, I could have ended up in a wheelchair. But I was lucky and I learned to treat my body with more respect.”

Mr Allam, who is currently deciding on his next move after travelling, was selected out of 10,000 applicants to become one of only 160 Brits to take part in the wacky obstacle course in Argentina.

He will need to fight his way through four rounds of snow-covered obstacles, including the infamous Big Red Balls. His episode is described by the BBC as “the most exciting final Winter Wipeout has ever seen”.

During his recovery, he took solace in magic, teaching himself the tricks of the trade.

Contestants are encouraged to showcase their personality so he became ‘Magic Dan’ and made his top hat and blazer his trademark. He even used his magic to help in the contestant selection process, by pulling a coin out of the producer’s ear.

He said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of Wipeout and jumped at the chance to take part. I’ve always been sporty and didn’t want to let my back problems prevent me from doing the things I love, so I thought I’d just go for it.

“I can’t give too much away before the show airs, but all I can say is the course is even harder than it looks on TV, but it’s absolutely great fun taking part.”