BBC Strictly Come Dancing's JB Gill's five-word verdict on Amy Dowden exit and reveals warning from wife

JB Gill has spoken out in his first TV interview since it was confirmed Amy Dowden has had to quit Strictly Come Dancing for the rest of the series.

The JLS star was partnered with the Welsh dancer at the start of the BBC One dance contest's 2024 run in September. The pair were going from strength to strength in the competition when Amy "fell ill" and was forced to miss a week of rehearsals.

As a result, she was forced to miss the latest live show last Saturday night (November 2) and Amy's fellow pro Lauren Oakley stepped in so JB could continue to perform in the first-ever 'Icons Week', where they received a near-perfect score for their couple's choice routine.

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But since then, it's been confirmed that a foot injury means Amy needs to recover and therefore cannot continue in the competition. It also means that JB will carry on in the BBC One dance contest alongside Lauren.

Appearing in his first TV interview alongside Lauren since the news on Loose Women on Wednesday (November 6), JB was asked by host Charlene White: "Does it feel strange after so many weeks of saying JB and Amy to you being introduced as JB and Lauren?" to which he admitted: "So strange. I've definitely not gotten used to it, but yeah it's one of those things of course."

He went on to say that "the show must go on" as he commented: "No one would have ever wished for an outcome like that but you know the show must go on and you have to deal with it. Of course, the most important thing for us is that Amy gets better and gets time to rest."

On now working with Lauren, after they bagged JB's first 10s of the series with their couple's choice routine to a Bruno Mars medley during Strictly's first-ever 'Icons Week', JB said: "It's been amazing with Amy and now of course it's going to be amazing with Lauren. She's a fantastic dancer."

He revealed: "I said to her in week one, 'you’re an amazing dancer'. That dance that she did with the guest act was just unbelievable."

JB was also asked to reveal his "ritual" before performing live in front of the nation in the Strictly ballroom and revealed it's led to a warning from his wife, Chloe.

The singer and TV star explained: "As I come down the stairs to do my walk down, I always try and look for her in the audience. She always says to me 'Don't do that because if I'm not sat in that place, you'll be like this [abruptly looks around] the whole time!'"

He continued: "I did it as a kid! I always used to look for my mum or my dad or someone on the sidelines. I think it's just a habit that's died hard, usually, I find her pretty quickly then it erases all the nerves."