BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden forced to quit series as new couple announced

A Strictly Come Dancing star will no longer participate in the remainder of the competition, it has been announced. The professional dancer had to miss the latest BBC show with her celebrity partner JB Gill after "falling ill" the previous weekend.

It was earlier reported that Amy started feeling unwell following her performance with JLS star JB and was rushed to hospital during the show's Halloween special at the end of last month, causing her to miss the week six results show. The 34-year-old was then unable to rehearse with JB last week and consequently didn't perform during the latest live show on Saturday night (November 2).

Lauren Oakley, who doesn't have a celebrity partner in this year's series of the BBC One dance competition, stepped in. She rehearsed with JB before joining him to perform the live couple's choice routine to a Bruno Mars medley during Strictly's inaugural 'Icons Week', which saw the pair earn JB's first 10s of the series, resulting in a near-perfect score of 39 out of a possible 40 points.

However, it has now been confirmed that Lauren will continue in the competition with JB as Amy withdraws to focus on her recovery from a foot injury. The announcement came on Monday night's (November 4) edition of the Strictly Come Dancing spin-off It Takes Two. A spokesperson for Strictly stated: "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.", reports the Manchester Evening News. The spokesperson further commented, "The health and wellbeing of everyone involved in Strictly are always the utmost priority. The whole Strictly family sends Amy love and well wishes."

Following a breast cancer diagnosis early last year, Amy returned to Strictly this year. She took a break from the 2023 series due to a mastectomy and several rounds of chemotherapy before achieving the milestone of ringing the bell. Amy has bravely spoken about her battle with Crohn's Disease in the documentary 'Strictly Amy: Crohn's And Me' and shared how connecting with others led her to "accept" her condition for the "first time ever".