Strictly’s JB Gill walked out of rehearsals with temporary partner Lauren Oakley on Tuesday after Amy Dowden was forced to pull out of this week’s show due to her health scare.
JB’s professional partner Amy, 34, was rushed to hospital during last week’s live show after she collapsed backstage.
While she recovers, the BBC announced that Lauren would be filling in for Amy and dancing with JLS star JB, 37, on Saturday.
JB and Lauren appeared in high spirits after a day of working together on JB’s Couple’s Choice routine for Bruno Mars for Icons Week.
BBC bosses have said they are “hopeful” Amy will return next week.
Strictly’s JB Gill, 37, walked out of rehearsals with temporary partner Lauren Oakley on Tuesday after Amy Dowden was forced to pull out of this week’s show due to her health issue.
His current professional partner Amy, 34, was rushed to hospital during last week’s live show after she collapsed backstage.
While she recovers, the BBC announced that Lauren would be filling in for Amy and dancing with JLS star JB on Saturday.
A Strictly Come Dancing spokesperson said: ‘Amy is doing much better. She is delighted that Lauren will be able to step into rehearsals and perform in Saturday’s show for JB Gill’s Couple’s Choice dance.
“We’re all hoping Amy dances with JB again next week.”
JB wrapped himself in a long puffer coat which he layered over a black T-shirt and a pair of Nike shorts.
She completed her sporty look with Adidas sneakers and carried a huge bottle of water for the day.
Paramedics were called to the show’s base in Hertfordshire after 9pm on Saturday night following reports of a “medical emergency”.
A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service said: “We were called shortly after 9pm on Saturday night to a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.
‘An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult woman, was taken to Barnet Hospital for further care.
Moments earlier, the dancer had performed the Foxtrot to Toploader hit Dancing In The Moonlight with her famous partner, JLS star JB Gill.
But fans noticed that the dancer was partially seated during her last performance.
BBC bosses said they were ‘hopeful’ Amy would return next week
A Strictly Come Dancing spokesperson said: ‘Amy is doing much better. She is delighted that Lauren will be able to take part in rehearsals and perform in Saturday’s show.
JB wrapped himself in a long puffer coat which he layered over a black T-shirt and a pair of Nike shorts.
She completed her sporty look with Adidas sneakers and carried a huge bottle of water for the day.
Paramedics were called to the show’s base in Hertfordshire after 9pm on Saturday night following reports of a “medical emergency”.
The pair rose to number five in the Strictly rankings after receiving a collective score of 32 from the show’s judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.
A statement from Dowden’s spokesperson confirmed: “Amy was not feeling well and so an ambulance was called as a precaution.”
“He feels much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern.”
Amy opened up about her difficulties competing on Strictly after returning from her battle with cancer.
The professional dancer revealed she found the series “very, very difficult” just hours before collapsing backstage on Saturday night.
Amy blamed the high standards of this year’s celebrity dancers for the level of intensity the show had reached after she and her singer partner found themselves in the bottom two the previous week.
In an interview with the Mail, the Welsh star said: “This year the competition is very, very tough, as you can see from the standings.”
‘The reality is that there are now ten couples left and two of them will be in the dance competition each week. But it happened and we lived to dance another day.
Amy shared her struggles competing on this year’s “very, very tough” show, just hours before her special Halloween dance with JB, after which she collapsed.
The dancer, who returned to Strictly after her battle with breast cancer, revealed she found the series “very, very difficult” just hours before collapsing backstage on Saturday.
The Welsh dancer missed the results show after collapsing and being taken to hospital following her performance with JB.
During the fourth week, the couple faced off in a dance off against Nick Knowles, but were saved by the judges.
Amy’s mother Gillian Dowden, 65, also said she had spoken to her daughter several times since her worrying collapse backstage after Saturday’s show.
Show insiders feared Amy, who also battles Crohn’s disease and is recovering from breast cancer, could leave the show after her collapse on Saturday night.
Amy’s mother Gillian Dowden, 65, also said she had spoken to her daughter several times since her worrying collapse backstage after Saturday’s show.
Speaking at Amy’s family home in Caerphilly, South Wales, the mum said: “We spoke on the phone today and she is fine.”
A spokesperson for Amy said the ambulance was called “as a precautionary measure.” She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in 2023, forcing her to take a break from the previous series of the BBC show.
Amy was diagnosed the day after returning home from her honeymoon with her husband Ben Jones.
In what became the most difficult year of her life, the Strictly Come Dancing star underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, fertility treatment and almost died from sepsis.
The dancer has also battled Crohn’s disease since she was a child and said she has already been through “quite a few” health issues in her life.
Amy recently revealed how Strictly had helped her feel like herself again after cancer.
She said: ‘What a difference a year can make. I look back and think, ‘God, last year around this time I was having chemotherapy…last year around this time I was in the hospital with a blood clot.’
‘I never really felt like myself since my cancer journey until I came back to Strictly and worked with my lovely JB.
“That’s what was hardest for me going into the dance competition: I’m not ready to have it taken away from me.”
‘I love being back. I don’t want this to stop. I’m not ready to end my journey. I knew that JB could beat the dance and that he could absolutely dominate it.’