Who is Strictly's Lauren Oakley? Meet the pro stepping in for Amy Dowden
StrictlystarLauren Oakley recently stepped in for her co-star Amy Dowden after the Welsh dancer collapsed backstage after Saturday night's Halloween show.
The Birmingham-born star has been training with Amy's celeb partner, JLS singer JB Gill, and will take to the dance floor on Saturday for Icons Week.
Following Amy's collapse, a spokesperson for Strictly Come Dancing issued a statement which read: 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."
As Lauren gears up for Saturday's performance, join HELLO! as we take a deep dive into the professional dancer's career and private life away from the cameras…
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Who is Lauren Oakley?
The pro dancer, 33, started dancing at the age of two before going on to compete professionally. She started to compete in ballroom and Latin aged seven and went on to become the juvenile champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival.
Later in her career, she won the under 21 British National Championships before joining the Strictly Come Dancing family in 2022. Aside from appearing in the hit BBC show, she's also performed as the leading lady in Giovanni Pernice and Anton Du Beke's national tour titled Him & Me, and has starred in Giovanni's solo tour, This Is Me.
Her Strictly career
In her first year on the show, Lauren joined the ensemble cast and performed numerous group routines including a Rumba with Neil Jones in week two. In 2023, the dancer was given her first celebrity partner – Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy.
The dancing duo performed well in the competition, making it through to week eight before losing out to Kai Widdrington and his partner Angela Rippon in the dance-off.
Lauren's married life with husband Max
Away from the Strictly spotlight, Lauren enjoys spending time with her husband Maximiliano Omar Montes de Oca whom she wed in September 2019. On their big day, Lauren looked every inch the beautiful bride rocking an embellished lace gown while her beau Max looked dapper in a three-piece suit and a sage green tie.
Lauren occasionally shares gushing tributes to Max on her Instagram page. Back in June, she praised her "gorgeous husband" after he completed his degree with the Open University.
Heaping praise on her loved one, she wrote: "This gorgeous husband of mine is always singing my praises, so it's about time I shouted to the world about him.
"@maximontes93 finished & submitted his last assignment for his degree last night. A degree that he's been working towards with @theopenuniversity for 5+ years."
She continued: "Whilst working a full time job, whilst fulfilling passion projects (studying Japanese, looking after our lovely little house, our plants and our fur babies), whilst building a life and finding his feet on the other side of the world with me, whilst still finding time to gym & run & whatever else was the fitness fad of the month… and whilst supporting me through my career too. I couldn't be prouder."
