He found fame as a dancer firstly appearing - and impressing judges - on Britain's Got Talent with his dance partner Chloe Hewitt in 2013 before he joined Strictly Come Dancing in 2016 as one of the pro dancers.
Since leaving in 2019, he has gone on to star in reality television shows, soaps, pantomimes and competitions like Celebrity MasterChef. Now, A J Pritchard is returning to the kitchen once more for the show's festive extravanganza alongside a whole host of familiar faces - Holby City actress Chizzy Akudolu, drag artist Kitty Scott-Claus and reality star and singer Megan McKenna. Celebrity MasterChef Festive Extravaganza will air on Friday, December 30 on BBC One at 9pm.
Speaking ahead of the show, the 28-year-old said: "It feels absolutely amazing to be back in the MasterChef kitchen, especially at Christmas time in the festive spirit", before he spoke of his Christmas must-haves. "My top tip for making a Christmas dinner has to be the roastiest roast potatoes. I like everything overcooked, a bit burnt, but not the turkey obviously. Can’t have a burnt turkey."
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While he is seeing 2022 out on a rather festive note, this year has been quite a busy one for the dancer, it seems. Alongside various appearances on talk shows, presenting duties at festivals with his brother, former Love Islander Curtis Pritchard, and dance performances, in October he was crowned one of the winners of Celebrity SAS: Who Dares Wins.
And as his professional career remains busy, his love life took quite a turn in the final few monts of the year, as he recently admitted he was happily single on Vicky Pattinson's podcast The Secret To... after splitting from his long term girlfriend Abbie Quinnen and reportedly his new fling, Zara Zoffany.
But who are his former partners? Why did they split? And who is his brother? Here's everything we know about AJ...
Who is AJ? And what has he been in?
Alex Joseph Pritchard is a 28-year-old ballroom dancer who began dancing at the age of 12 at his parents' dance school, Pritchards Dance & Fitness Academy. He and his dance partner Chloe Hewitt represented Britain in competitions around the world and won the National Youth Latin Championships in 2012, 2013 and 2014.
His first taste of fame was when he and Chloe appeared on talent show Britain's Got Talent with them reaching the semi-finals on the series. The dancer from Stoke-On-Trent then won the hearts of the nation when he appeared as a professional dancer on popular BBC show Strictly Come Dancing in 2016, partnering up over the years with Claudia Fragapane, Mollie King, Lauren Steadman and Saffron Barker. Since leaving the show, AJ has appeared on several television shows as both himself and as characters.
In 2018 he took part in Celebrity MasterChef as well as Celebrity Hunted, alongside his brother Curtis who is also a dancer. In 2021, the pair also joined the cast of popular soap Hollyoaks playing twin brothers for a short while - although their performances were met with huge reaction on social media - and not for the better.
In 2020, the eldest of the two brothers entered Gwrych Castle to take part in I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! - although he sadly became the seventh celebrity to be evicted from the castle.
AJ's Love Life
AJ was in a relationship with fellow dancer Abbie Quinnen until the autumn, when it was revealed that the pair had reportedly split after the former Strictly star was caught sending text messages to another woman.
The pair met in 2018 when she auditioned for and subsequently became part of the dance team on AJ's Get On The Floor Live tour. The duo made headlines in January 2021 when a video they were filming for a TikTok video went horrifically wrong. AJ and Abbie had intended to show how a glass bottle could be cut in half so it could then be used as a vase - using rope, a flammable chemical, a bottle and open flame. But instead, the glass smashed and soon Abbie was engulfed in flames, leaving her with third degree burns and needing skin grafts.
The couple were together for three years, with them both claiming the accident made them stronger, before AJ allegedly broke up with Abbie out of the blue, leaving her heartbroken.
The 25-year-old has since opened up about the break up, which happened after he went away earlier this year to film MTV's The Challenge, to The Sun and said: "I’m completely devastated and my world has fallen apart. AJ isn’t the person I thought he was. After everything I went through with him I thought we would be together for ever. He has been the biggest disappointment to me.
"This has knocked my confidence after my accident and I need to rebuild myself now. AJ was my world and I didn’t recognise the guy who was breaking up with me."
It was later reported that, soon after his split from Abbie, he had began dating social media influencer and founder of an exclusive London social club called CC Club, Zara Zoffany who appeared on the show alongside the dancer. Having been spotted on several dates and strolls together in November, it seems this romance was short lived as the pair have now reportedly gone their seperate ways.
AJ stated on Vicky Pattinson's Christmas podcast episode of The Secret To, which was released on December 22, that he is now "single" and "having a good time".
Who is AJ's brother, Curtis?
Curtis Pritchard is AJ's younger brother. He is 26 years old and first appeared on our screens in the first series of Ireland's Dancing With The Stars, partnering up with model Thalia Heffernan. He featured in the show for the next two years but was replaced by Strictly's Trent Whidden after an attack, in which both Curtis and his brother AJ sustained injuries, in a nightclub in Nantwich saw Curtis undergo a knee operation.
In June 2019, Curtis took a dive into the world of reality television, appearing on ITV2's Love Island, where he found love with Maura Higgins - from whom he split in 2020. Soon after his Love Island stint, Curtis featured on BBC Three's RuPaul's Drag Race as a guest choreographer with AJ and later went on Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion.
The two brothers are currently starring in Pantomime in a production of Cinderella at De Montfort Hall.
Catch AJ Pritchard on Celebrity MasterChef Festive Extravaganza on Friday, December 30 at 9pm on BBC One.
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