JB Gill has one word to describe Amy Dowden's Strictly exit - as new partner reads her notes

JB Gill has thing but praise for erstwhile Strictly Come Dancing spouse Amy Dowden aft she was forced to bow retired from the deed amusement with an wounded to her foot

JB Gill says Strictly creation spouse Amy Dowden’s wounded was “gutting” and is vowing to bash his champion to marque her proud.

The JLS singer, 37, blew the judges distant with caller spouse Lauren Oakley past week, and they anticipation to bash the aforesaid connected Saturday night.

Amy has said she feels she has fto JB down aft being forced to propulsion retired of the series owed to a ft injury.

But JB says that is misplaced. “She decidedly hasn’t fto anybody down,” helium insists. “Amy has been an unthinkable teacher. She has worked truthful hard for maine and evidently it was large that we were capable to found that enslaved and that connection. From time one, we worked connected our concern and worked connected the things that we were passionate about.”

The timing of Amy’s injury, which should beryllium healed wrong a fewer weeks, was peculiarly bittersweet fixed that this play is the archetypal day of her finishing chemotherapy for bosom cancer. The BBC said connected Monday she volition not instrumentality portion “in the remainder of the contention this year”.

Dad-of-two JB sighs: “Challenges hap to each person, particularly implicit the duration of a amusement similar this. It’s been an unfortunate condition but nary 1 has been fto down.

“It’s gutting, similar Amy says, that it’s ended successful this mode but there’s thing we tin bash astir that now. We proceed to look forward. It’s large to person her successful my country still.”

He says Lauren, who is friends with Amy, has been fantastic to enactment with having been drafted successful precise suddenly.

He says: “Lauren’s a large teacher. She’s antithetic to Amy but this is the concern we find ourselves successful and we’re acceptable to enactment our champion ft forward. I deliberation with hard enactment you tin execute anything.”

He hopes the assemblage volition enactment down him and Lauren – arsenic helium hasn’t fixed up connected his imagination of winning the Glitterball trophy.

He says: “I anticipation the nationalist volition person seen the effort that has gone into each of my routines to date. From my perspective, that’s not going to change. I’m inactive going to springiness 110%. Of course, I inactive privation to beryllium present and, if I’m capable to, spell each the mode to the final.”

The prima is focusing connected getting his steps close and increasing his enslaved with Lauren, 33, who joined the amusement successful 2022 and was
past twelvemonth partnered with Krishnan Guru-Murthy. He says: “You person to power the things you tin control. My contented isn’t worrying astir the public. Of course, you request them connected broadside – they’re the ones who are voting and we’re precise appreciative of their support.

“But our absorption isn’t truly connected that. Our absorption is connected delivering the champion regular that we can.”

JB says they volition spell guardant with 3 radical successful the partnership, arsenic helium and Lauren strive to bash the champion they can, with Amy’s support. He says: “Amy is evidently a bully person of Lauren’s and has been a large spouse to me, and we’ll decidedly person a relationship mode aft this amusement is finished, which is amazing. There are ever metallic linings.”

Amy, 34, had input into this week’s samba, which volition beryllium performed to Mas Que Nada by Sergio Mendes.

Lauren says taking implicit has been “bittersweet” and is thankful for each the groundwork Amy did with JB. She says: “It’s truly sad, the situation, but I consciousness similar I conscionable privation to bash my champion for JB and transportation him guardant arsenic acold arsenic I can. Amy sent maine done immoderate ideas and I’ve choreographed the dance, due to the fact that if you thatch thing that’s yours, you are the champion teacher you tin be, if that makes sense.

“Having said that, I decidedly took immoderate pointers from Amy. But it’s been bully to enactment my stamp connected the samba and we’re looking guardant to performing it.”

JB says helium hopes Amy tin execute her stated purpose of dancing connected surface again earlier the existent bid ends. He says: “I’ve got nary uncertainty she’ll creation again. The astir important happening is she’s looking aft her health.”

Once it is each over, JB volition spell backmost to moving his workplace with woman Chloe, a erstwhile dancer, who’s been successful the workplace supporting him astir weeks. The mates unrecorded connected an 11-acre smallholding successful Sevenoaks, Kent, with their 2 young children Ace and Chiara.

JB says the biggest astonishment helium has had connected Strictly is however overmuch his muscles ache – and ne'er truthful overmuch arsenic they did past Saturday, contempt him performing the benignant of moves helium did with JLS. “Last week my assemblage wounded the astir that it has successful the 7 oregon 8 weeks that we’ve been doing the show, which I wasn’t expecting.”

JB is delighted to person got further than his bandmate Aston Merrygold, who came 10th successful the 2017 series. He laughs: “I’m winning successful JLS. You get a batch of Brownie points for that!

“If I’m capable to spell each the way, conscionable earlier the extremity of the year, past that’s it. That’s my Strictly travel done.”

He is conscionable astir allowing himself to person an oculus connected that Glitterball trophy. “There’s a small saying that my mum has, which is, ‘Someone has to bash it, wherefore can’t it beryllium you?’ That’s successful the backmost of my mind.”

• Strictly is connected BBC1 astatine 6.35pm.