Who is Lauren Oakley? Strictly Come Dancing pro steps in for Amy Dowden

It emerged connected Sunday that Dowden was taken to infirmary by ambulance “as a precaution” aft she started feeling unwell backstage connected Saturday night.

Sunday night’s pre-recorded results amusement did not diagnostic Dowden arsenic she was transported to the infirmary anterior to its filming.

Dowden missed the 2023 play of Strictly aft being diagnosed with crab but has this twelvemonth made a triumphant comeback to the ballroom.

In May 2023, the dancer, past 32, received her archetypal diagnosis of signifier 3 bosom crab aft discovering a lump successful her bosom the time earlier her honeymoon.

After receiving a 2nd diagnosis of "another benignant of cancer" aboriginal that year, the present 34-year-old started chemotherapy.

In August 2024, doctors were acrophobic astir irregularities recovered successful her bosom during a check-up. She was sent backmost to the infirmary for further investigating but aboriginal fixed the all-clear.

Additionally, Dowden has Crohn's disease, a chronic unwellness that results successful inflammation of definite sections of the digestive system.

But who is Dowden’s replacement for present and erstwhile could we spot the Welsh dancer return?

Born successful Birmingham, Oakley has been dancing since the property of two.

She began competing successful ballroom and italic astatine the property of seven, winning crossed some disciplines, and adjacent becoming the juvenile champion astatine the Blackpool Dance Festival.

Oakley has performed arsenic the main woman successful Giovanni Pernice and Anton Du Beke's nationalist circuit Him & Me, travelled the satellite with the unrecorded creation spectacle Burn the Floor. She besides starred successful Pernice's solo circuit This Is Me.

For her debut series, Oakley joined the ensemble formed and participated successful the nonrecreational radical routines, without being fixed a personage partner.

Last twelvemonth though, she stepped into the spotlight erstwhile she was paired with Channel 4 newsreader Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

The brace made it to the eighth week of the competition, leaving aft losing a dance-off to Kai Widdrington and Angela Rippon.

Oakley doesn’t person a personage spouse this year.

It’s not yet known if Oakley volition lone beryllium dancing with Gill for a mates of days’ training, oregon if she could go the JLS singer’s caller temporary, oregon permanent, partner.