Strictly's JB Gill addresses show future and sends sweet message to Amy Dowden

JB Gill sent a sweet message to his Strictly Come Dancing professional partner, Amy Dowden, on Thursday as she skips this week after she fell ill during filming at the weekend.

Amy, 34, is said to be "doing much better" after a health scare forced her to miss Sunday's results programme after being taken to hospital.

Professional dancer Lauren Oakley, who currently does not have a celebrity pairing on this year's series of the BBC One dance competition, will join forces with the JLS star, 37, for this weekend's performance.

Whilst discussing his time on the programme without Amy on Scott Mills' BBC Radio 2 show, covered by OJ Borg on Thursday, JB delivered a sweet message to his professional dance partner.

Reflecting on their partnership, JB said: "We've been able to build an incredible rapport over the last six, seven weeks and it's been great going to the training room with her and working on the new routine and, 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", reports the Express.

He continued to share that rehearsing without Amy has felt 'surreal', explaining: "So to not have her in rehearsals this week has been a bit surreal. But the best thing ... is that she's taken some time to get better. We're obviously wishing her all the best as she recovers."

Talking about working with Lauren, 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, and the best way for us to partner together.

"The good thing about this week is that I'm doing my couple's 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 week 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."

On Monday, a Strictly spokesperson said: "Amy Dowden MBE is doing much better and the Strictly family send her love and wish her well.

"She is delighted that fellow professional dancer Lauren Oakley is able to step in for rehearsals and to perform in Saturday's show for JB Gill's couple's choice dance. We are all hopeful that Amy will be back to dance with JB next week."

This year the dancer returned to competing on the show after undergoing treatment for stage three breast cancer, including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy. In February, Amy revealed that tests showed she has "no evidence of disease".

Strictly Come Dancing continues this Saturday on BBC One and BBC iPlayer.