JB Gill has revealed he is ‘learning to adapt’ to a different style of dancing with his new partner Lauren Oakley after she was forced to step in to replace Amy Dowden.
The JLS star, 37, has found a new professional partner for Icons Week after Amy was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage on Saturday.
JB 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, meaning less of the routine is set in stone.
Speaking to OJ Bord 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. […]
JB Gill has revealed he is ‘learning to adapt’ to a different dance style with his new partner Lauren Oakley after she was forced to step in to replace Amy Dowden
“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.”
This weekend, JB and Lauren will perform a Couple’s Choice to a Bruno Mars medey, as this year’s couples pay tribute to some of music history’s greatest icons.
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’.
The JLS star has got a new professional partner for Icons Week, after Amy (pictured during Saturday’s show) was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage on Saturday
JB said learning his latest routine with a new professional has been made a little easier by the fact that they will be dancing a Couple’s Choice, meaning less of the routine is set in stone
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.