Strictly Come Dancing professional Lauren Oakley has stepped in to replace Amy Dowden for training after she fell ill during the most recent episode of the BBC dancing show.

Oakley will rehearse with JLS singer JB Gill on Monday (October 28). JB Gill is Amy Dowden's celebrity partner on the 2024 series.

An ambulance was called to Elstree Studios in Borehamwood on Saturday (October 26) when Dowden began feeling unwell.

She returned to the Strictly line-up this year, having missed the 2023 series after being diagnosed with breast cancer, BBC News reports.

The 2024 Professional Dancers

Gill and Dowden received a score of 32 on Saturday night after performing a foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.

Dowden did not appear in Sunday evening's (October 27) results show as she was taken to hospital before it was filmed.

A spokesperson for the dancer said the ambulance "was called as a precaution" and that she was now "feeling much better".

After the results show JB Gill shared a post on Instagram which read: "On behalf of both @amy_dowden and I, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for voting for us and wishing us well. We absolutely loved our performance on Saturday night and are SO grateful to be through to another week on @bbcstrictly Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support."

His caption was written alongside a picture of the pair performing their dance routine.

Oakley, who doesn't have a celebrity partner this year, joined the BBC show in 2022.

She most recently took part in the 2023 series when she was partnered with Channel 4 news presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

At the time of writing it is not yet known when Dowden will return to the series.

Amy Dowden's battle with cancer

Downden was initially diagnosed with stage three breast cancer aged 32 in May 2023, after finding a lump in her breast the day before she went on her honeymoon.

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The now-34-year-old was diagnosed again with "another type of cancer" later that same year and began chemotherapy.

She returned to hospital in August 2024 for further tests, as doctors were concerned about abnormalities in her breast after a check-up. She was later given the all-clear.

Dowden also has Crohn's disease - a lifelong condition which causes parts of the digestive system to become inflamed - and has previously spoken about its toll on her health.