Amy Dowden is set to join Strictly Come Dancing’s live tour following her recovery from an injury.
The 34-year-old native of Caerphilly in South Wales was originally partnered with JLS vocalist JB Gill during this year’s competition.
However, the professional dancer was compelled to withdraw from the contest after the sixth week due to a foot injury.
Lauren Oakley stepped in to partner with Gill for the remainder of the series, successfully reaching Saturday’s grand finale.
They were among four couples who made it to the final performance, which was ultimately won by comedian Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell.
Throughout the 30-show tour, Gill will perform with both of his dance partners.
Lauren Oakley partnered with Krishnan Guru-Murthy last year.
Pic: PA
This year marked the first occasion in two years that Dowden had a celebrity partner, following her treatment for breast cancer.
In February, Dowden announced that her recent health examination had revealed “no evidence” of the illness.
After exiting the competition in November, Dowden clarified that the injury leading to her withdrawal was “unrelated to any prior health concerns”.
The upcoming tour will feature seven couples from this year performing some of their most iconic dances.
All four judges from the competition – Craig Revel Horwood, Motsi Mabuse, Shirley Ballas, and Anton Du Beke – will also participate, along with tour host Janette Manrara.
Manrara expressed her excitement, stating it would be “a delight to welcome back the wonderful Amy Dowden” as a “unique surprise” for fans.
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The line-up of celebrities for the live tour was announced earlier this month, with pairings now confirmed to include professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas with EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick, Kai Widdrington alongside Olympian Montell Douglas, and Katya Jones paired with opera vocalist Wynne Evans.
They will be joined by Aljaz Skorjanec with Love Island contestant Tasha Ghouri, Vito Coppola with actress Sarah Hadland, and Nancy Xu with singer Shayne Ward.
Dancers Buswell, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystal, Robbie Kmetoni, and Jake Leigh will also take part in the performances.
McCausland, the inaugural blind contestant to win the competition, will not participate in the tour due to scheduling conflicts with his stand-up comedy engagements.
The UK live tour is scheduled to visit a total of nine cities, including Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and London.
