Amy Dowden laughs with Strictly stars ahead of icons week - despite missing show after collapse
Strictly Come Dancing has unveiled the songs and dances for its much-anticipated Icons week. Tonight, our favourite celebs will once again grace the dance floor, battling it out for another week in the competition. With tunes from Whitney Houston to Madonna and the legendary George Michael, there's no doubt the dancers will set the floor alight. However, Amy Dowden won't be joining the competition this week after collapsing backstage last Saturday and being rushed to hospital.
But in a heartwarming clip shared on Strictly's Instagram, the 34 year old Welsh star is seen giggling and dancing with her partner JB ahead of the live show. Stepping in for Amy, Lauren Oakley will join JB as his new dance partner. The duo will groove to Bruno Mars Medley by Bruno Mars. Montell Douglas and Johannes Radebe are set to Waltz to I Will Always Love You by Whitney Houston. Sam Quek and Nikita Kuzmin will glide across the floor with an American Smooth to Love Story (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift.
Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola will Cha Cha to Like A Prayer by Madonna, while Tasha Ghouri & Aljaz Skorjanec will perform their Couple's Choice to What About Us by P!nk. In other news, Chris McCausland and Dianne Buswell will Tango to Rock And Roll All Nite by KISS. Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas are set to Samba to Faith by George Michael.
READ MORE:Strictly's Amy Dowden heartfelt words to JB Gill before he dances without her
READ MORE:Strictly's Lauren Oakley lived with co-star before his shock death
Pete Wicks and Jowita Przysta are set to dance the Salsa to Queen's Another One Bites The Dust. Meanwhile, Shayne Ward and Nancy Xu will be quickstepping to Help! by The Beatles, and Wynne Evans and Katya Jones will perform a Rumba to This is My Life by Shirley Bassey.
Amy has also sent her well-wishes to her partner JB just hours ahead of the show, saying she'll be his biggest cheerleader. Amy took to social media to write: "Wishing these two the absolute best of luck tonight! I'm going to be your biggest cheerleader!”
Addressing JB directly, Amy added: "JB it says everything how you've been able to adapt to a new professional, produce such a great number ( so excited for everyone to see) whilst supporting me! I'm so lucky! You're a STAR! I know what tonight means to you! Thank you!"
Amy also thanked Lauren, who is stepping in for her, saying: "Thank you, I knew Jay would be in safe hands and have a fabulous time with you! You know I've always adored your dancing since I ran up to you in Blackpool tower at 8 years old to tell you! Thank you darling!”
Additionally, she expressed her gratitude to the Strictly choreographers for creating "such a brilliant routine! LOVE IT! Thank you! Also a big thank you for all the love and support I've received this past week. So grateful and certainly helped! Now tune into the first ever ICONS week on strictly!” and thanked everyone for their love and support during her recent health scare.
On It Takes Two with Janette Manrara, Lauren and JB, Amy opened up about her health scare. She was taken from Elstree Studios, the BBC One show's production centre, to Barnet Hospital as a precautionary measure.
While JB is preparing for his performance with temporary dance partner Lauren Amy said: "I'm feeling so much better and I'd just like to thank everyone for all the love and support I've received and to my Strictly family".
This season, Amy made a triumphant return to the show post-treatment for breast cancer, which included a mastectomy followed by chemotherapy. On Sunday night's pre-recorded Results Show, JB was left to take the stage solo, yet he and Dowden managed to dodge landing in the bottom two after their charming foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.
Amy’s spokesman released a statement on Sunday explaining: "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."
