Strictly’s Amy Dowden gives a health update as she makes her TV return alongside JB Gill after being hospitalised following backstage collapse

Strictly’s Amy Dowden has given fans an update after her health scare last week.

The professional dancer, 34, who recently battled breast cancer and has Crohn’s disease, appeared on the BBC spin-off show alongside her celebrity partner JB Gill and Lauren Oakley on Friday.

Amy will not be performing in Saturday’s live show, with fellow pro Lauren stepping in to dance with the JLS star, 37, in her absence.

The decision was made after Amy was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage on Saturday.

Host Janette Manrara welcomed her to the show and asked, “I want to start with you, Amy, how are you doing?”

The professional dancer replied: ‘Yes, I feel so much better and I would like to thank everyone for all the love and support I have received, and also to my Strictly family.’

Commenting on what this week was like later in the show, she said: “I’m so proud and so grateful to Lauren – they’ve worked so hard and JB has been so supportive.”

“He’s just confused and they’ve been messaging me all week.”

Amy seemed in good spirits and looked glamorous in a glitzy blue two-piece suit.

Lauren explained that all three of them have a WhatsApp group and that she and JB regularly send Amy videos to keep her informed.

Amy chimed in, “I named it Team and a star next to it, we’ve been sending videos and messages every day.”

For Icons Week on Saturday, JB and Lauren will dance to a Bruno Mars medley of a hip-hop style couple’s choice.

Lauren explained: ‘What was so nice is that this dance, because it is the couple’s choice, was choreographed by an external choreographer, Lizzie Gough, so we both came in on Monday on a level playing field.

“We were both learning the routine so it was a lot of fun making that progression together and JB is really cool. It’s hip-hop, so I copied the coolness.”

JB admitted that training with Lauren instead of Amy was “surreal” because he was “very used to working with Amy.”

He added: “Lauren is lovely, she’s amazing, she’s obviously an incredible dancer. I’ve seen her do the group numbers during the series so far.

‘So for me it was just a matter of, we have Lizzie helping us, we also have a very different dance style, so I feel like there was a little less pressure, especially on Lauren in terms of executing the dance.

“It was just a time for us to let go and be in the moment, enjoy the music, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Fans rushed to social media to show how happy they are to see Amy back on screen, writing on X: ‘Great to see Amy looking much better #strictly #ittakestwo’

‘Glad to see Amy is doing well. She will be missed this weekend #strictly #ittakestwo

“What a nice surprise to see Amy on the #ItTakesTwo couch with JB and Lauren!”

“@dowden_amy, what a nice surprise to see you on #ItTakesTwo tonight. I hope you are doing well. #strictly’

It comes just after JB revealed he is ‘learning to adapt’ to a different style of dancing with his new partner Lauren.

He said learning his latest routine with a new professional has been made a little easier by the fact that he and Lauren, 33, will be dancing a Couple’s Choice, which means less of the routine is set in stone.

Speaking to OJ Borg on Scott Mills’ show on BBC Radio 2, he said: ‘Well, of course everyone is different and especially when you’re doing partner work – Amy is a little bit smaller than Lauren, you know, there are little things and pieces that are different for each of them.

“So for me, and obviously not as a professional, it’s about adapting to the way they dance. […]

“The great thing about this week is that I’m doing my couple’s choice, so it’s not so much Ballroom hold or Latin partner work and lifts and so on. It will be a bit more, I think, individually side by side, because this weekend is icon week on the show and we get a chance to express ourselves together.

“So actually, I feel like it’s going to be a good way for me to, you know, clearly approach the changes that we’ve had this week.”

JB also revealed that his previous dance partner Amy is ‘taking time to get better’ after it was revealed she would miss the next live show after collapsing backstage during the live show this weekend.

He continued: ‘We’ve been able to build an incredible bond over the last six or seven weeks and it’s been great to get into the training room with her and work on the new routine and, you know, for me, learn different styles – whether it’s a ballroom is style or new Latin style – and then watching that process as it builds into the show that we put on on Saturday night.

“So it was a bit surreal not having her at rehearsals this week. But you know, the best […] is that it took her some time to get better. We obviously wish her all the best in her recovery.’

Icons Week will be JB and Lauren’s first dance together in a live show after the professional star takes over from Amy, after the Welsh dancer was forced to take a break from the BBC show after being rushed to hospital after filming on Saturday evening was brought.

Paramedics were called to the show’s base in Hertfordshire after 9pm on Saturday evening following reports of a ‘medical emergency’.

Moments earlier, the dancer had performed Foxtrot to Toploader hit Dancing In The Moonlight with her celebrity partner, JLS star JB Gill.

The pair climbed to number five on the Strictly leaderboard after receiving a combined score of 32 from show judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

A statement from Dowden’s spokesman confirmed: ‘Amy felt unwell and an ambulance was called as a precaution.

‘She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern.’

They added: ‘We request that Amy’s health privacy be respected.’

Amy’s world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with cancer the day after she returned home from her honeymoon with dancer Ben Jones in 2023.

Although she hoped the disease could be cured by surgery, doctors discovered a different type of cancer two months later in June.

In what would become the toughest year of her life, the professional dancer underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment and also nearly died from sepsis.

Amy, who is also battling Crohn’s disease, confirmed she was cancer-free in February.