A gay revue show was left in the lurch when a raunchy acrobatic act was forced to quit at the last minute.

One of the stars injured himself in rehearsals with only hours to curtain-up on the opening night of The Pink Revue at the Theatre Royal, Brighton.

Carlos, a dancer with the act Tuyo, hurt his back and was unable to appear.

Organisers of the show, compered by actor Christopher Biggins, were left in a dilemma.

But then Christopher and producer Antony Johns recalled a couple they had seen performing in Brighton previously and thought they would fit the bill.

Mr Johns said: "I thought about getting a Russian act or something but then I remembered No Strings Attached from The Argus Appeal night."

He set about finding the duo of Nikki Lucas and Tat.

By chance, they were available to step in. Tat, 38, said: "I got a call at about 12.30pm asking if we could fill in. I had to rearrange my day because I had some meetings planned.

"My partner Nikki was at college and she was able to leave there. We arrived at the theatre and went through what we did in the afternoon."

They were immediately asked to practise their act with dancers performing alongside.

Then, within eight hours of being called on Thursday, the pair were on stage before a packed audience.

Tat added: "We really enjoyed it. The crowd was good and the director was really nice."

Christopher Biggins was delighted. He said: "The way they use bodies to balance on each other is rather beautiful. They were absolutely fantastic."

The Pink Revue finishes tonight, with cash from ticket sales going to The Argus Appeal, every penny of which goes to good causes in Sussex.