Amy Dowden's surprise Strictly appearance for JB Gill leaves viewers in tears
Fans were moved to tears after watching professional dancer Amy Dowden present her former celebrity partner JB Gill with a birthday cake during Saturday’s Strictly Come Dancing semi final. JB and Amy were originally partnered on the show, before a foot injury meant that Amy had to retire from the rest of the series. Since last month, JB has been paired with Lauren Oakley. However, Amy was on hand to present JB with a cake to celebrate his 38th birthday after he finished his first dance of the evening.
One viewer wrote: “How lovely was it to see Amy Dowden give JB Gill a birthday cake and sing happy birthday to him,” while another commented: “Amy bringing JB a cake, love how she’s so supportive,” and a third simply shared a sobbing face emoji. A fourth fan summed it up: “Amy bringing the cake, I am crying.”
JB certainly had a birthday to remember on the show. He and Lauren scored 39 points for their first dance, a paso doble to Requiem For A Tower by Clint Mansell. Judge Motsi Mabuse said: “The pressure is on, but the pressure we didn’t feel on you, because that dance was absolutely amazing.That was the best birthday present you could give yourself. I love the momentum in that. I love the strength in that.”
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Anton Du Beke told Gill: “You embodied the narrative through the dance, through what you were doing, and through your commitment to the story of the dance.”
JB and Lauren followed that dance with a salsa to Red Alert by Basement Jaxx. It earned them perfect 10s from all four judges, and Claudia Winkleman told JB it was also the first perfect score anyone had received for dancing a salsa in the last six years.
The JLS singer got another birthday surprise following the judges’ comments, too. As well as hugs from judges Oti and Shirley and a high five from Anton, JB got the first ever ‘Paul Hollywood handshake’ from the notoriously difficult to please Craig Revel Horwood.
In an exclusive interview with OK! last month, JB spoke about his dance partnerships with both Lauren and Amy.
"Lauren’s been amazing," he said. "It has been an adjustment getting used to different teaching styles with a different dancer, but she’s amazing."
JB also shared that he and Amy have remained close friends. "She messaged this morning just to find out how things are going.We’ve been in touch pretty much every day for the last couple of weeks, just talking about the routine, and offering advice where she can."
