Strictly professional dancer Lauren Oakley has stepped in to train with celebrity contestant JB Gill following Amy Dowden’s collapse backstage during Saturday night’s main show. Oakley will rehearse with JLS singer Gill on Monday. It’s not yet known when Dowden will return to the series.
When Dowden started feeling unwell on Saturday, Elstree Studios in Borehamwood called for an ambulance. This year, she rejoined the Strictly lineup after missing the 2023 series due to her breast cancer diagnosis.
The dancer’s representative stated that she “called the ambulance as a precaution” and that she was now “feeling much better.” Oakley, who doesn’t have a celebrity partner this year, joined the BBC show in 2022. Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy partnered with Oakley in 2023. The pair finished in eighth place.
Gill and Dowden received a score of 32 on Saturday night after performing a foxtrot to “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader. Due to her hospitalization prior to the filming of the results show on Sunday evening, Dowden did not make an appearance.
In May 2023, after discovering a lump in her breast the day before her honeymoon, the dancer received an initial diagnosis of stage three breast cancer at the age of 32. Later that same year, the now 34-year-old received a second diagnosis of “another type of cancer” and started chemotherapy.
She returned to the hospital in August 2024 for further tests, as doctors were concerned about abnormalities in her breast after a check-up. She was later given all-clear. Dowden also has Crohn’s disease—a lifelong condition that causes parts of the digestive system to become inflamed—and has previously spoken about its toll on her health.
ALL CHANGE: Amy Dowden’s Strictly Come Dancing Replacement Revealed, As Star Is Forced To Miss Rehearsals After Collapse
The Welsh professional dancer, 34, who was paired with JB Gill, 37, missed the results show due to a medical ordeal that occurred shortly after the live episode aired. The Sun can reveal that although the duo advanced to Idols Week, cancer survivor Amy’s fellow Strictly Come Dancing professional Lauren Oakley, 33, will now take her place for Monday’s rehearsals.
We can exclusively reveal how the JLS hitmaker will dance with Lauren, who didn’t have a celebrity partner this year, today while Amy recovers. A source was first to tell us: “Lauren will be stepping in today to train with JB. It’s unclear when Amy will be back, but everyone just wants her to rest and get better.”
BBC One show fans threatened to “switch off” the series earlier this year when Lauren, who was paired with Krishnan Guru-Murthy last year, failed to appear on the main show partnerships for 2024. She will now make an appearance alongside a 2024 show star while she waits for Amy, who suffers from Crohn’s disease and has been battling cancer, to recover.
Strictly Come Dancing: Amy Dowden Out Of Saturday’s Show After Health Scare Saw Her Rushed To Hospital Over The Weekend
Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden is out of this Saturday’s show after a health scare over the weekend saw her rushed to the hospital. According to reports, the professional dancer is “doing much better,” but Lauren Oakley, who will partner with JLS singer JB Gill in this weekend’s live show, will take her place. A spokesperson for Strictly expressed their optimism that Dowden would return for the upcoming show, stating that the cast and crew “send her love and wish her well.”
Dowden missed Sunday’s results program after “feeling unwell” and being taken to Barnet Hospital as a “precaution,” and Gill, 37, stood alone to find out whether he would face the dance-off. The couple avoided the bottom two after their Halloween week foxtrot to “Dancing in the Moonlight” by Toploader.
Dowden, from Caerphilly in South Wales, made a full return to the professional line-up this year after she underwent treatment for breast cancer. The announcement came that the dancer, who also suffers from Crohn’s disease, would be returning to the series after undergoing a mastectomy and chemotherapy. JLS singer Gill partnered with her, and they have now advanced to the final 10.
Table of Contents