It was at the annual Strictly ‘speed dating’ event that bosses learned they were pairing Amy Dowden with former boyband star JB Gill.
Set up for professionals to meet celebrities, they each move around the room, do a brief dance together and exchange a few words.
Show sources say that even at that early stage, JB, a singer with the chart-topping pop group JLS, was considered one of the most promising contestants and would almost certainly be among the two or three couplings most likely They would lift the glitter ball.
The view taken at the BBC was that it would be the perfect, fairytale comeback for Amy after her dramatic health scare last year.
Amy was just 32 years old when, in May last year, she received the shocking news that she had stage 3 breast cancer.
Amy Dowden and former boyband star JB Gill on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing
At the time he was filming the BBC series Dare To Dance and said he realized “something wasn’t right”. She found a lump in her breast the day before she went on her honeymoon with her husband Benjamin.
Later that year, he was diagnosed again with another unspecified type of cancer and underwent chemotherapy treatment.
Amy returned to the hospital in August 2024 for more tests and was eventually given the all-clear.
Everyone was delighted with his return. There were other reasons to celebrate too: it’s the 20th anniversary of Strictly, which began under a cloud due to the row between Giovanni Pernice and Amanda Abbington, caused when the actress complained that she had been “mistreated and bullied” in rehearsals; accusations that Pernice always denied.
This sparked a five-month investigation by the BBC, which ended last month, with six of the 17 complaints against him confirmed.
The show needed a little cheer and having Amy back on the dance floor, with a famous partner, gave it a big boost.
But on Saturday night the Welsh beauty collapsed after her foxtrot on Dancing In The Moonlight. An ambulance was called and she was taken away from the show’s Elstree studios.
The following day the BBC announced that he would not be returning for tonight’s programme. Instead, JB will dance with Lauren Oakley, who found fame on Strictly last year when she teamed up with Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
In a statement, the Corporation said Amy, who also suffers from Crohn’s disease, a chronic disease that causes inflammation of the digestive system and can lead to extreme fatigue and weight loss, was delighted that Lauren intervened. However, no further details were given. were given.
Show sources say JB was considered one of the most promising contestants and would almost certainly be among the two or three couplings most likely to lift the shiny ball.
JB will dance with Lauren Oakley, who will replace Amy during tonight’s show.
It left a big question mark over whether Amy will return to the show. While he has not yet revealed the origin of the medical emergency, it has caused another headache for the BBC.
Adding to the Pernice and Abbington saga, professional dancer Graziano Di Prima was fired for kicking Zara McDermott during training.
And now there are internal questions over whether Strictly bosses took Amy on too soon.
One tells me: ‘There is a certain panic. It was a horrible thing to happen to Amy and now there are questions about whether she should have come full throttle back this year.
‘She went through a terrible experience with her cancer, she was very brave and determined. She loves the show and of course missed being a big part of it, but she probably should have relaxed a little more.
‘Amy collapsed shortly after her dance. He is very pressured. He has made no secret of how difficult this year has been, it is very competitive. What’s wrong has been kept a top secret, but it must have been difficult for her to take this week off.
‘And then there are the optics: how does the BBC see it? It’s not cool.’
In fact, it is his partnership with JB, who has proven to be one of the best dancers on the series, that some also cite as “not the best idea.” with someone a little less capable, that way there wouldn’t have been so much pressure on his performance,” reflected a source close to the program.
“But clearly she and JB would go far, so you have to wonder if that was the right thing to do.” Amy herself admitted just hours before she collapsed that she had found the program “very, very difficult.”
She blamed the fact that the competition is fierce this year, with people like Tasha Ghouri scoring high, while the show’s first blind contestant, Chris McCausland, has proven to be a wild card. Amy said: “This year the competition is very, very tough, as you can see from that leaderboard.”
Former judge Arlene Phillips, a choreographer for more than five decades, pleaded with Amy to take care of herself. She told the Mail last Monday: “Amy is a powerhouse and wants to get back on that pitch like everyone else.”
‘Maybe there was a moment that overwhelmed her and she needs rest and needs care; will accept it.
‘Amy is the best fighter we have right now. I know Strictly will take care of her, but Amy is her own woman too and that’s what she decides.’
Speaking in August about her cancer journey for a BBC documentary, Amy admitted one of the hardest things was not being able to dance.
She said: ‘They took away everything I love most, they took away my dancing.
‘For me, dance has always helped me get through the darkest moments. When I dance, I forget all my worries, tensions and pains of life. “It’s where I’m happiest.”
BBC insiders insist that Amy’s participation in the show was not their sole decision and that she is equally responsible for wanting to return.
A source said: “From the beginning, the BBC said Amy’s health and wellbeing came first. “That was always the top priority.
‘Any claim that his return to the show was led by the BBC would be totally incorrect. There was, and would not be, any pressure on our part for her to come back or be a part of anything if she didn’t want to.
“It will always be a mutual decision to participate in any element of the show, as with any illness or injury.”
For now, however, the pressure is on Lauren to keep Amy’s dancing shoes warm.
Some adjustments to routines will be necessary.
Lauren is taller than Amy, but tonight she and JB will dance the couple’s chosen style to a Bruno Mars medley with JB dressed as the American singer.
Of course, Amy will be watching and hoping to get back on the dance floor next week.
However, the question is: will BBC bosses think the risk is too big to take?