Amy Dowden to miss BBC Strictly Come Dancing's live show, Lauren Oakley steps in

Strictly Come Dancing favourite Amy Dowden will not be appearing in this Saturday's show, with Lauren Oakley stepping up to dance with JB Gill.

Lauren took to the dance floor with the JLS star for training yesterday after Amy's unexpected collapse over the weekend. The BBC has now confirmed that Amy will be absent from the upcoming Saturday competition.

A spokesperson for Strictly Come Dancing commented: "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."

After feeling unwell, Amy was absent from Sunday's results show and was taken to Barnet Hospital from Elstree Studios as a "precaution", according to her representative. On Monday (October 28), Fleur East shared the news while presenting the Strictly spin-off It Takes Two.

JB expressed his gratitude to fans for their support following the health scare on the programme. He posted on Instagram: "On behalf of both @amy-dowden 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 on @bbcstrictly Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support.", reports the Mirror.

This year, Welsh dancer Amy, 34, made a triumphant return to the Strictly Come Dancing competition following her treatment for breast cancer, which included a mastectomy and chemotherapy. Her social media post garnered support from fellow Strictly stars and celebrities alike.

Dancers Dianne Buswell, Johannes Radebe, Jowita Przystal, Nancy Xu, and radio DJ Gaby Roslin all showed their love by commenting with heart emojis on his page.

Former Geordie Shore star Vicky Pattison cheered her on with the comment: "Smashed it babes."

Sarah Louise Merrygold, wife of JLS's Aston Merrygold, also offered words of encouragement: "Smashed it J Ballroom. Team JAmy smashing it again."

In a tense moment on stage, Gill stood alone as the results were announced. He and Dowden narrowly avoided landing in the bottom two after their foxtrot to Toploader's 'Dancing In The Moonlight'.

A representative for Amy provided an update on Sunday, stating: "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern. We request Amy's privacy in matters of health is kindly respected."

The BBC explained that "due to unforeseen circumstances" she was "unable" to participate in the results show, which is recorded on Saturday following the live show and broadcast on Sunday.

A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service reported: "We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care."

Last year, whilst honeymooning in the Maldives with her husband and fellow dance professional Ben Jones, Strictly's Amy Dowden discovered a lump in her breast. She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, and thankfully, by February, shared the joyful news that tests indicated she has "no evidence of disease".

Dowden has been open about her health challenges, influenced by the response to her documentary on living with Crohn's disease, which helped her "accept" her condition for the "first time ever".

She presented the powerful BBC documentary, Strictly Amy: Crohn's And Me, where she candidly discussed her struggles with the disease and connected with others sharing their own battles with Crohn's.

Crohn's disease is a lifelong affliction where parts of the digestive system become inflamed, triggering symptoms such as stomach pains, cramps, relentless fatigue and diarrhoea, the NHS website explains. In a painful twist during the 2022 Strictly live tour, Dowden had to be hospitalised in Manchester due to an acute Crohn's flare-up.

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