Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden will be exiting the competition.
A BBC statement was read on Monday's (November 4) edition of Strictly Come Dancing: It Takes Two to confirm Dowden will be replaced by fellow professional Lauren Oakley as JB Gill's partner for the remainder of the season.
A Strictly spokesperson said: "Sadly, Amy Dowden MBE will not be partaking in the rest of the competition this year. Whilst Amy focuses on her recovery following a foot injury, fellow Professional Dancer, Lauren Oakley, will step in as JB’s dance partner.
"The health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Strictly are always the utmost priority. The whole Strictly family sends Amy love and well wishes."
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Dowden appeared in the BBC Ballroom this past weekend to support Gill and his then-temporary partner Oakley, after she was forced to withdraw from training last week due to her hospitalisation.
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At the time, the BBC was "hopeful that Amy [would] be back to dance with JB" for Week 8, but has now shifted to Oakley working with the JLS singer permanently.
During the Strictly live show, Oakley expressed hope that her routine with Gill for Icons Week had "made [Dowden] proud".
A tearful Dowden offered the new duo her full support, telling them: "I'm so grateful to you, Lauren… I came up to Lauren when I was eight years old at Blackpool Tower, and she just danced and I told her I was her biggest fan. So thank you, Lauren, thank you, J[B]. I wish I could stay with you, you're amazing."
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Dowden also shared an emotional post to her Instagram page. In the lengthy post, she praised Gill and said: "I'm so sad, so upset and asking why me, why now that our journey has been cut short. My heart right now is breaking having to pull out of the competition due to a foot injury and I know only too well 'this too shall pass' and I'll be soon better and back dancing."
The professional dancer returned to the ballroom this year following her treatment for cancer, which was recently chronicled in the documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me.
Dowden has been a professional on the BBC dancing competition since 2017, though she has revealed she passed up a chance to join Strictly earlier in her career.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Justin is a freelance entertainment journalist and writer. He first joined Digital Spy as a freelance entertainment reporter in 2010 and also worked as a sub-editor for the brand, serving as Night News Editor from 2016 to 2024. Over more than a decade, Justin has covered numerous major entertainment events from the US and has interviewed a wide-ranging group of public figures, from comedian Steve Coogan to icons from the Star Trek universe, cast members from the Marvel Cinematic Universe and reality stars from numerous Real Housewives cities and the Below Deck franchise. Justin has also been on the ground to cover major pop culture events like the Star Wars Celebration and the D23 Expo. He's written for titles across the Hearst network, plus the likes of CBR and Us Weekly.
