Strictly's Amy Dowden gives a health update as she makes her TV return alongside JB Gill after being hospitalised following backstage collapse

Strictly's Amy Dowden has given fans an update following her health scare last week.

The professional dancer, 34, who recently battled breast cancer and has Crohn's disease, appeared on the BBC spin-off show alongside her celebrity partner JB Gill and Lauren Oakley on Friday.

Amy won't be performing in Saturday's live show, with fellow pro Lauren stepping in to dance with the JLS star, 37, in her absence. 

The decision was made after Amy was taken to hospital after collapsing backstage on Saturday.

Welcoming her to the show, host Janette Manrara asked: 'I want to start off with you Amy, how are you doing?'

The professional dancer replied: 'Yeah, I'm feeling so much better and I'd just like to thank everyone for all the love and support I've received and to my Strictly family.' 

Commenting on how this week has been later in the show, she said: 'I'm just so proud and so grateful to Lauren - they've worked so hard and JB has just been so supportive of me.'

'He's just knuckled down and the pair of them have messaged me all week.'

Amy seemed to be in high spirits and looked glamorous in a glitzy blue two-piece suit. 

Lauren explained that the three of them have a Whatsapp group and she and JB have been sending Amy regular videos to keep her in the loop.

Amy chimed in with: 'I called it Team and a star next to it, we've been sending videos and messages every day.' 

For Icons Week on Saturday, JB and Lauren will be dancing a Hip Hop style couple's choice to a Bruno Mars medley.  

Lauren explained: 'What was so nice is, this dance, because it's couple's choice, it was choreographed by an outside choreographer, Lizzie Gough, so we both came in on Monday on a level playing field. 

'We were both learning the routine so it was really nice to make that progression together and JB is really cool. It's Hip Hop so I've been copying the coolness.'

JB admitted that training with Lauren instead of Amy was 'surreal' as he's 'very much used to working with Amy'.

He added: 'Lauren's lovely, she's amazing, she's an incredible dancer of course. I've been watching her doing the group numbers throughout the series so far.

'So for me it was just a case of, we've got Lizzie helping us, we've got a completely different style of dance as well so I feel like there was a little bit less pressure, certainly on Lauren in terms of executing the dance.

'It was just a time for us to let go and be in the moment, enjoy the music, and that's what it's all about.' 

Fans rushed to social media to gush how happy they are to see Amy on screens again, writing on X: 'Great to see Amy looking much better #strictly #ittakestwo'

'Glad to see Amy doing well. She will be missed this weekend #strictly #ittakestwo'

'Such a nice surprise to see Amy on the #ItTakesTwo sofa with JB and Lauren!'

'@dowden_amy ah what a lovely surprise seeing you on #ItTakesTwo tonight. Hope you’re doing well. #strictly'

It comes just after JB  revealed that he's 'learning to adapt' to a different style of dancing with his new partner Lauren.

He said that learning his latest routine with a new professional has been made slightly easier by the fact that he and Lauren, 33, will be dancing a Couple's Choice, meaning less of the routine is in hold.

Speaking to OJ Borg during Scott Mills' show on BBC Radio 2, he said: 'Well, of course everybody’s different and especially when you’re doing partner work - Amy’s slightly shorter than Lauren, you know, there are little sort of bits and pieces that are different for each of them. 

'So for me coming into that and not, obviously, being a professional, it’s just about having to adapt to how they dance. […] 

'The good thing about this week is that I’m doing my couples choice, so it’s not so much Ballroom hold or Latin partner work and lifts and so on. It’s gonna be a bit more, I guess, individual side by side, because it’s icons week this weekend on the show and we’re gonna have a chance to express ourselves together. 

'So actually, I feel like it’s gonna be a good way for me to, you know, to approach obviously the changes that we’ve had this week.'

JB also revealed that his previous dance partner Amy is 'taking time to get better,' after it was revealed she'd be missing the next live show after collapsing backstage during the live show over the weekend.

He continued: 'We’ve been able to build an incredible rapport over the last six or seven weeks and it’s been great going to the training room with her and working on the new routine and, you know, for me, learning different styles - whether it’s a Ballroom style or new Latin style - and then watching that process sort of, as it builds, into the show that we put on, on the Saturday night. 

'So, to not have her in rehearsals this week has been a bit surreal. But you know, the best thing […] is that she’s taken some time to get better. We’re obviously wishing her all the best as she recovers.'

Icons Week will be JB and Lauren's first dance together in a live show after the professional star stepped in to take over from Amy, after the Welsh dancer was forced to take a break from the BBC show after being rushed to hospital on Saturday evening after filming. 

Paramedics were called to the show's Hertfordshire base after 9:00pm on Saturday evening following reports of a 'medical emergency.'

Moments earlier the dancer had performed the Foxtrot to Toploader hit Dancing In The Moonlight with her celebrity partner, JLS star JB Gill.

The pair climbed to number five on the Strictly leaderboard after being awarded a collective score of 32 from show judges Shirley Ballas, Craig Revel-Horwood, Motsi Mabuse and Anton Du Beke.

A statement from Dowden's spokesperson confirmed: 'Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution.

'She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern.'

They added: 'We request Amy's privacy in matters of health is kindly respected.'

Amy's world came crashing down when she was diagnosed with cancer the day after she came home from her honeymoon with dancer husband Ben Jones in 2023.

While she hoped it could be cured by surgery, two months later in June doctors found another type of cancer.

In what became the toughest year of her life, the professional dancer underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, fertility treatment and also almost died of sepsis.

Amy, who also battles Crohn's disease, confirmed she was cancer-free in February.