Amy Dowden, a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, met up with judge Shirley Ballas at a charity event on Wednesday. The get-together happened just as the popular show is getting ready to begin its tour across the country.
The 35-year-old dancer posed for a happy photo with Shirley and fellow Strictly professional Carlos Gu after the UK Open Dance Festival.
Shirley posted a photo on Instagram with Carlos and Amy, adding a message expressing her affection for the pair. She tagged them as @gkx_carlos, @amy_dowden, and @ukopeinternational.
Amy looked stunning at the event, wearing a beautiful royal blue velvet gown with a low-cut, strapless design that showed off her figure.
Despite Carlos winning the last season of Strictly with his partner, footballer Karen Carney, neither he nor his close friend are participating in this year’s tour.
Audiences at the Strictly Come Dancing tour can look forward to seeing some of the best dances from the last season, including the exciting paso doble and salsa performed by La Voix and Aljaž Škorjanec.
Harry Aikines-Aryeetey and Karen Hauer will be dancing the cha-cha and salsa, and George Clarke with Alexis Warr will perform the Charleston and Viennese waltz.
Lewis Cope and Katya Jones will dance a Couple’s Choice and Charleston, and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Lauren Oakley will perform a quickstep and cha-cha.
Ellie and Vito will dance a salsa and a routine of their choosing, and Kai and Vicky will perform a routine of their choice followed by a tango.
Layton Williams, 31, and Nikita Kuzmin, 28, will perform their Argentine tango and show dance together again as the Strictly Come Dancing live tour travels throughout the UK.
Amy was eliminated early from the latest season after her partner, Thomas Skinner, was the first celebrity voted off.
After joining the popular BBC show, the former Apprentice contestant was already considered a risky choice because of his strong, conservative opinions. The controversy intensified when he admitted to being unfaithful to his wife, Sinead, shortly after their wedding.
Even though people were starting to dislike him, Thomas claimed the BBC unfairly manipulated the public vote to get him eliminated after news of his affair became public.
He recently posted a long message on X (formerly Twitter) explaining that after leaving the show, he received an email from someone claiming to be a BBC executive. The email contained voting statistics that suggested his vote count had been misrepresented, and he’s had the email’s authenticity confirmed.
A recent independent poll revealed the celebrity only received 1.4% of the public vote, even though they claimed to have received an email with proof of a higher number.
Strictly Spoiler, a website, conducted a poll of 125,000 viewers, and its results are independent of the official BBC vote. The poll revealed he was the least popular contestant, receiving only 1,805 votes – the lowest total of anyone competing.
Amy had previously expressed her sadness that Thomas didn’t come to the Strictly finale, especially considering the recent issues.
She recently shared on the Lorraine show that the last time she heard from him was on Thursday. He messaged her then, but didn’t say anything about the issue.
She explained that she was still grieving a recent loss, which was why she hadn’t been fully present, and that she wished Thomas had been there for her during this difficult time.
Honestly, I’m still reeling from Thursday. It’s just… awful. I lost Mr. Harrison, my dance teacher, and he wasn’t just a teacher, you know? He was like a second dad to me. It feels like losing a part of my family, and I’m completely heartbroken.
Phillip Perry passed away on his wife’s birthday, and I was deeply affected by the loss. He wasn’t just a dance teacher to me, my twin, and our family – he was incredibly influential in my life and responsible for my entire dance career. Because of this, I was understandably distracted and not fully present.
I was really disappointed that Thomas couldn’t be part of such a fantastic and thrilling final. I truly wished he could have been there.
Following a now-deleted statement reported by The Mirror, Thomas revealed he regretted participating in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The reality star admitted he wasn’t perfect and had made errors, but he firmly believed the election results were manipulated.
Despite saying the only good part of his time on the show was getting to know his professional partner, Amy, he also stated that he and the BBC remained on friendly terms.
As I reflect on everything, the first thing that comes to mind is gratitude. I just want to sincerely thank each and every one of you who has been following my progress and offering your support – it truly means the world to me, more than words can say.
I want to be upfront about what’s probably going to happen now. I anticipate people will accuse me of lying, attempt to discredit me, say I’m unpopular, or even claim I received no support. Honestly, I’m no longer concerned by that. I’m confident in what I know to be true, and I stand by the discussions I’ve had.
Thomas, a father of three, acknowledged he was responsible for many of the recent issues. He admitted to making mistakes throughout his life and accepted full accountability, stating he’s never claimed to be perfect.
I’m really upset that my family is now involved in all of this, so I need to withdraw from the situation. I never intended for any of this to become public knowledge, and honestly, I wish I hadn’t done Strictly Come Dancing.
Oh man, he really regrets it, you can just feel it. He said if he could take it all back, he would. The only good thing that came out of the whole mess was meeting Amy – honestly, she’s the sweetest person ever. But everything else? Just a nightmare. He admitted it’s hit him way harder than he lets on, and it breaks my heart to hear it. I just want him to be okay!
We parted ways amicably. Let me be clear, I have no bad feelings towards the BBC. They gave me my first major opportunity on The Apprentice six or seven years ago, and I really appreciate that. I don’t want any trouble; I simply want to move forward with my life.
I’m returning to work tomorrow and prioritizing my family – my kids and wonderful wife. I feel fortunate to have consistent work, which is my main focus right now. It’s been a difficult year, and the negativity I’ve faced hasn’t been fair.
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2026-01-22 20:09