Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has been temporarily replaced by show bosses after suffering a ‘medical emergency’ backstage during Saturday’s live Halloween special.
The Welsh dancer, understood to be in remission from breast cancer, was admitted to hospital following a reported collapse at Elstree Studios, the BBC show’s Hertfordshire base.
Moments earlier, Dowden, 34, had performed the Foxtrot to Toploader hit Dancing In The Moonlight with her celebrity partner, JLS star JB Gill.
But fans noted the dancer was partially seated during her latest performance.
Strictly bosses have since replaced her with professional dancer Lauren Oakley, who was originally left without a partner for this year’s show, while she recuperates.
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Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has been temporarily replaced by show bosses after suffering a ‘medical emergency’ backstage during Saturday’s live Halloween special
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Strictly bosses have replaced her with professional dancer Lauren Oakley, who was originally left without a partner for this year’s show, while she recuperates
Oakley will rehearse with Gill in Dowden’s absence after the singer avoided the dance-off, finishing fifth on the Strictly leader-board with a collective score of 32 from show judges Shirley Ballas, Motsi Mabuse, Craig Revel-Horwood and Anton du Beke.
A source told The Sun: ‘Lauren will be stepping in today to train with JB. It’s unclear when Amy will be back but everyone just wants her to rest and get better.’
Show insiders feared Dowden, who also battles Crohn’s disease, could quit the show following her collapse on Saturday evening.
The dancer, who missed the 2023 series of Strictly after being diagnosed with breast cancer, was forced to miss Sunday’s Results show, which was pre-recorded shortly after her collapse on Saturday night.
Now concerned insiders are worried she won’t be able to continue the competition, given the severity of her incident.
An insider told The Sun: ‘Amy was obviously in huge distress. Everyone around her was equally upset because they felt so helpless.
‘JB had to be given a hug. Even the medic who first attended to Amy needed support and consolation.
‘The only thing they could do was try to get her to hospital as quickly and safely as possible.’
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Oakley (left) made an appearance on Sunday’s pre-recorded results show, dancing with Carlos Gu (right). She was originally left without a pairing for the current series
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JLS star JB Gill was forced to stand solo for Sunday night’s pre-recorded results show after his partner collapsed backstage after filming wrapped on Saturday’s live special
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The JLS star shared an Instagram message on Sunday as the pair made it through to another week, writing ‘on behalf of both @amydowden and I’
Fans rushed to X – formerly known as Twitter – to send the professional dancer well wishes and a speedy recovery
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Dowden was seen with her colleagues towards the end of Saturday’s live show, before falling ill backstage
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Dowden had previously shared a backstage video with dance partner JB Gill ahead of Saturday’s live show
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Show insiders feared Dowden, who also battles Crohn’s disease and is recovering from breast cancer, could quit the show following her collapse on Saturday evening
Dowden was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer the day after she came home from her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones in 2023.
In what became the toughest year of her life, the Strictly Come Dancing star underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, fertility treatment and also almost died of sepsis.
The dancer has battled gut condition Crohn’s disease since she was a child and said she has already been through ‘quite a lot’ in her life with health struggles.
Gill shared an Instagram message on Sunday as the pair made it through to another week, writing ‘on behalf of both @amydowden and I.’
‘I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for voting for us and wishing us well. We absolutely loved our performance on Saturday night and are SO grateful to be through to another week Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support.’
Pete Wicks and fellow pro Dianne Buswell both posted heart emojis. Gill also reposted messages from fan accounts voicing their excitement that the pair would be competing for another week.
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The dancer has battled gut condition Crohn’s disease since she was a child and said she has already been through ‘quite a lot’ in her life with health struggles
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