Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden is to return to the show for its live tour. It comes after the 34-year-old, who made a return to the show this year after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, withdrew from the competition in November following an injury. At the time, Dowden said she was “heartbroken” to be pulling out of the show due to an “insufficiency stress fracture” on her shin.
On the tour, beginning this January, the Welsh dancer will perform alongside her celebrity partner JB Gill, who will also dance with Dowden’s replacement on the show, Lauren Oakley.
Other couples to dance on the tour include 2024 finalists Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri and Aljaz Skorjanec, and fellow finalists, actress Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola. Actor and singer Shayne Ward will also appear, dancing alongside pro Nancy Xu. Professional dancer Michelle Tsiakkas and EastEnders star Jamie Borthwick will dance together, as do Kai Widdrington and Olympian Montell Douglas, while Katya Jones and opera singer Wynne Evans perform.
This year’s winner, comedian Chris McCausland, who was the first blind contestant to take part in Strictly, will not appear on the tour due to scheduling conflicts with his stand-up dates.
Dancers Dianne Buswell, Karen Hauer, Neil Jones, Nikita Kuzmin, Jowita Przystal, Robbie Kmetoni, and Jake Leigh, will also perform. The tour opens at Birmingham’s Utilita Arena on 17 January and will visit Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, and Nottingham.
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