Who is Lauren Oakley? Strictly dancer replaces injured Amy Dowden

Strictly Come Dancing has had a mid-season cast change for 2024 after Amy Dowden had to drop out of the competition over a foot injury.

Lauren Oakley is set to take her place alongside JB Gill on the dance floor and it looks like he will be in safe hands as she helped him to a joint top score of the series with 39 points during Icons Week.

Oakley has had a celebrity partner on the BBC One show before, but has been a member of the pro cast for a number of years and is a strong supporter of all her Strictly co-stars.

Here's all you need to know about Oakley as she joins the 2024 main cast.

Read more:

• What we know as 'heartbroken' Amy Dowden quits Strictly 2024

• Lauren Oakley teams up with Giovanni Pernice outside of Strictly

• 'Strictly has bounced back after the scandals, and there's already an obvious winner'

Who is Lauren Oakley?

Ballroom and Latin dancer Oakley has been training since she was just two years old and her competitive career has included winning the title of Under 21 British National Champion.

Now 33, Oakley joined Strictly Come Dancing's pro cast in 2022 alongside new castings Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu and Michelle Tsiakkas.

As is often the case with new dancers on the show, she spent her first year dancing in the group performances, but got a celebrity partner in 2023.

Oakley was back in the group cast again for 2024, but has now been bumped up to one of the competing couples as a stand-in for Amy Dowden.

Why is Lauren Oakley joining Strictly 2024?

In sad news for Strictly fans, cast favourite Dowden has been forced to drop out of the competition as she recovers from a foot injury. An ambulance had been called for her at the end of the Halloween Week show, and Oakley stepped in to replace her as JB Gill's partner in Icons Week.

Unfortunately, despite hoping she would just need one week of rest, Dowden confirmed on 4 November that she would have to leave the contest this year. However, the silver lining for viewers is that Oakley has been bumped up to the main cast, following complaints earlier in the series that she had not been given a celebrity partner.

Dowden, who has Crohn's disease, was absent from Strictly last year as she recovered from breast cancer, and from breaking her foot before the 2023 series started, but had been welcomed back to the ballroom for the show's 20th anniversary.

After the BBC confirmed her exit, Dowden posted a long statement to Instagram where she wrote: "My heart is breaking right now. The past few months I finally felt like me again. Cancer was no longer the first thing I thought of when I woke up. It was choreography, music choices, which dances in which order, what we needed to work on. I felt free again.

"My goal since hearing those words, 'You have cancer' was to get back on the Strictly dance floor. It’s been such a challenge to get back, one I devoted 2024 to which, with my incredible team, we got there. Something I wanted to do for myself and loved ones."

She added: "There was no feeling like it, dancing again in the ballroom with my Strictly family. JB I know you and Lauren will continue to ace that dance floor. I'll forever be your biggest cheerleader."

Her 2024 partner, JLS singer JB Gill, commented: "Heartbreaking news @amy_dowden but our moments will be forever in strictly history, never forget that. Thank you for being the best teacher. Nothing but love from all of the Gill family."

What Lauren Oakley said to Amy Dowden

Oakley had posted a number of photos and videos of herself with Dowden and Gill during Icons Week as she made it clear she was joining the team rather than replacing her co-star, and her comment to Dowden echoed the same sentiment.

She replied to Dowden's exit statement: "This too shall pass. We’re still a team. Love you. You did the ground work, I’ll carry your partnership forward and hopefully make you proud XXX"

Gill and Oakley had a hugely successful Icons Week with their Bruno Mars-themed Couple's Choice, which scored 39 points – the joint high score of the series so far.

Afterwards, Dowden – who had been brought to tears by the score – told Oakley on Instagram: "@laurenmayoakley thank you, I knew Jay would be in safe hands and have a fabulous time with you! You know I’ve always adored your dancing since I ran up to you in Blackpool tower at 8 years old to tell you! Thank you darling!"

Lauren Oakley's close bond with Giovanni Pernice

It's clear Oakley enjoys a close bond with lots of her Strictly co-stars, and one of them is controversial former pro Giovanni Pernice who was dropped from the cast after complaints from Amanda Abbington that he bullied her during the 2023 series.

Pernice, who has danced in theatre tours with Oakley, has strenuously denied the accusations and said he was happy with the outcome of a BBC investigation, insisting: "I am not a bully."

Oakley appeared to back him as they posted matching photos to social media recently of themselves sharing a hug, with Oakley's caption reflecting his absence from the cast with: "It's been a minute," and Pernice writing: "The best surprise visit today."

Since then, Oakley has been confirmed as a teacher for two classes at Pernice's London dance school, which has also seen recent visits from the Strictly judges.

Who has Lauren Oakley partnered on Strictly Come Dancing?

So far, Oakley has only had one celebrity partner on Strictly Come Dancing – journalist and broadcaster Krishnan Guru-Murthy, who she danced with in 2023.

The pair finished eighth, losing in the dance off to Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington, and Guru-Murthy has had nothing but good things to say about his dance partner.

Speaking about his Strictly experience, he said at the time: "I'm having the best time ever. It's a terrible admission, my wife and I went for a walk the other day with the dog.

"She turned to me and said she'd been talking to my brother and they were wondering whether I have never been really happy for the last 35 years.

"She said, 'Strictly has unleashed something in you that has been repressed by 35 years of news'."