Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer Amy Dowden has wished her celebrity partner JLS singer JB Gill and his stand-in dance partner Lauren Oakley the “absolute best of luck” ahead of Saturday’s live show.
Oakley, 33, who does not have a partner for this year’s series of the BBC dancing show, will perform with Gill in tonight’s show after the 34-year-old Welsh dancer was forced to skip this week due to illness.
Dowden is said to be “doing much better” after a health scare forced her to miss last Sunday’s results programme after being taken to Barnet Hospital the night before.
In a post on Instagram, Dowden said: “Wishing these two the absolute best of luck tonight. I’m going to be your biggest cheerleader.
“@jbgill it says everything how you’ve been able to adapt to a new professional, produce such a great number (so excited for everyone to see) whilst supporting me. I’m so lucky. You’re a star.
“I know what tonight means to you. Thank you.
“@laurenmayoakley thank you, I knew Jay would be in safe hands and have a fabulous time with you.
“You know I’ve always adored your dancing since I ran up to you in Blackpool Tower at eight years old to tell you. Thank you darling.
“@lizzie.gough you for choreographing such a brilliant routine! Love it. Thank you.
“Also a big thank you for all the love and support I’ve received this past week. So grateful and certainly helped.
“Now tune into the first ever Icons week on Strictly.”
The 37-year-old JLS singer says he will be performing a Bruno Mars-inspired performance with Oakley during Saturday’s live show.
Gill replied to Dowden’s post saying: “@amy_dowden you are the best. Your belief in me is so uplifting and your fighting spirit is second to none.
“Thank you for being my biggest champion and I know that @laurenmayoakley and I will do you proud.”
On Monday, a Strictly spokesperson said: “Amy Dowden MBE is doing much better and the Strictly family send her love and wish her well.
“She is delighted that fellow professional dancer Lauren Oakley is able to step in for rehearsals and to perform in Saturday’s show for JB Gill’s couple’s choice dance.
“We are all hopeful that Amy will be back to dance with JB next week.”
On Thursday, Gill told the BBC Radio 2 programme Scott Mills, presented by OJ Borg it had been “a bit surreal” to not have Dowden in the rehearsal room.
He went on to say she had “taken some time to get better” and added he was “wishing her all the best as she recovers”.
This year, Dowden returned to competing on the show after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
In February, she revealed that tests showed she has “no evidence of disease”, and later fronted a BBC show which delved into her condition.
Dowden has also documented her Crohn’s disease in Strictly Amy: Crohn’s And Me, and said meeting others in a documentary had helped her “accept” her own condition for the “first time ever”.
The lifelong condition, in which parts of the digestive system become inflamed, can cause stomach aches and cramps, fatigue and diarrhoea, among other symptoms, according to the NHS website.
