Amy Dowden breaks silence on Strictly future after being forced to quit series with JB Gill
Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden has spoken out about her future with the show after being forced to pull out of the series due to an injury. The 34-year-old Welsh dancer, who returned to the BBC One competition this year following breast cancer treatment, had to leave the show in early November due to an "insufficiency stress fracture" on her shin.
However, Amy will be returning to Strictly before next year's 2025 series - with the pro taking part in Strictly’s live tour. Starting this January, she will be dancing with her celeb partner JB Gill on the tour, who will also be performing with Lauren Oakley, Dowden’s stand-in on the show.
Sharing the tour news on her Instagram story, Amy wrote alongside the Strictly Come Dancing Live post: "Yayyyyyyyyy." Earlier this month, the cast of seven celebrities was announced, with the pairings now including; pro dancer Michelle Tsiakkas and EastEnders' Jamie Borthwick, Kai Widdrington and Olympian Montell Douglas, and Katya Jones with opera singer Wynne Evans. Also joining are Aljaz Skorjanec with Love Island's Tasha Ghouri, Vito Coppola and actress Sarah Hadland, and Nancy Xu with singer Shayne Ward.
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Professional dancers Dianne Buswell, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystal, Robbie Kmetoni and Jake Leigh will also be performing. However, this year’s winner, comedian Chris McCausland, who made history as the first blind contestant to win the show, won't be part of the tour due to clashes with his stand-up tour dates.
After her exit from the competition in November, Amy clarified that her injury was not related to any previous health scares. Amy faced a fierce battle with stage-three breast cancer in 2023 and had to step back from partnering a celebrity that year. However, following her courageous fight including chemo and a mastectomy, she shared some fabulous news this February—she's officially displaying "no evidence of disease".
Now, she's set to dazzle us on the upcoming tour that kicks off at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena come January 17 and will sweep through Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham and London, before wrapping up on February 9 at the O2. We'll see the notorious Strictly judges—Shirley Ballas, Anton Du Beke, Craig Revel Horwood—and for the first time on the road, Motsi Mabuse join the glitz and make their scores on the astonishing performances. Janette Manrara, the beloved host of It Takes Two, is once again ready to sprinkle stardust on the event.
Speaking about it, Janette couldn't contain her excitement: "Wow – what an incredible line-up of couples we have on the tour next year!" she said. "Arena audiences around the country are in for a real treat.
"It’s going to be a blast to be back with all the pros and, as an extra special treat, it will be a joy to welcome back the lovely Amy Dowden. Get ready for an evening of pure Strictly entertainment for the whole family – bigger and better than ever before!"
