Amy Dowden will return to the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor this weekend after Delta Goodrem was forced to pull out of Icons Week due to a rib injury. Lorraine Kelly confirmed the news while speaking with Vogue Williams on Wednesday's Lorraine.
Amy and her dance partner, Chris Appleton, were the first pairing to be eliminated from the 2026 competition, and the dance pro was left "heartbroken." However, the Welsh dancer will be heading back to the dancefloor to dance with Delta Goodrem's partner, Kai Widdrington, on Saturday.
Delta's injury and the new pairing
Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Delta had to withdraw from Icons Week due to an injury. It has since emerged that the pop star has broken a rib.
However, Lorraine and Vogue have since shared an exciting update about this week's live show. Lorraine began, "Now we were talking about this yesterday, weren't we? Strictly...Delta has been ruled out of this Saturday's show because she has an injury. Vogue is back with me, but new developments this morning. What's going on?"
Vogue replied, "New developments. She actually has a broken rib. But she was dancing with that. Such an incredible dancer. She topped the leaderboard with 33 points, as well, with Kai doing that salsa."
Rules and Amy's return
Vogue joked, "I used to say tall people can't dance, and that was my excuse for my bad dancing. But she's tall, and she's a really good dancer."
"So what do we think? Is she going to be okay?" the ITV host asked, to which Vogue continued, "She has an out this week. So the rules on Strictly are that if you hurt yourself, you can have one week off."
"So by next Monday, they have to make a decision on whether or not she's able to dance, and if she can't dance by next Monday, then she's out of the competition."
When asked how they would fill in Delta and Kai's slot, Vogue excitedly said, "Well, you'll be very happy with this. So it's Amy Dowden and Kai."
"But it's good to see her back, but she's going to be dancing with Kai, and supposedly to Dolly Parton's Jolene. I mean, that's going to be so good."
Delta's statement
When the news about Delta broke earlier this week, she took to Instagram to release a statement. She said, "I'm absolutely gutted that a rib injury means I won't be able to dance on Strictly this week. I've been loving every second of this experience, so having to sit this out is heartbreaking- especially after the height of Saturday night."
"I can not tell you how much I love being a part of this magical show. I'm going to focus on resting and recovering, and hopefully, I'll be back on that dancefloor very soon."
"Thank you so much to everyone for all the love and support. It's so appreciated. I'll be cheering everyone on from the sidelines this week. Sending all my love, Delta xx."
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9.30am on ITV.
