Amy Dowden plays down the ‘Strictly curse’ ahead of new series

Professional dancer Amy Dowden has played down the so-called ‘Strictly curse’ ahead of the new series.

Over the years, Strictly has been blamed for breaking up couples while celebrity contestants have ended up dating their pro partners.

But Amy, who joined the show in 2017, says none of the professional dancers are looking for love.

“I don’t know one dancer who has joined the show to bag a boyfriend,” she told The Sun newspaper. “We’re not here to find romance.

“If someone is after that, they’d be on Love Island.”

Amy went on: “We do Strictly because we love to dance. Everyone is absolutely passionate about the job.

“We’ve all trained for many, many years and we have many dance championships between us all. We’re all in the programme to produce the best show possible.”

Strictly Come Dancing is currently set to return in October, one month later than usual.

The BBC previously confirmed that this year’s Strictly would have a shorter run due to the ongoing health crisis.

“The Strictly Come Dancing team are doing everything they can to bring the nation plenty of Strictly magic later this year,” they said. “The safety of our cast and crew is of the utmost importance to us and further updates will be made in due course.”

It’s expected that the shorter run will mean fewer celebrities on the line up.

Names currently linked to the Strictly Come Dancing cast for 2020 include Love Island narrator Iain Stirling, Sunday Brunch host Tim Lovejoy TV host Michelle Ackerley and Radio DJ & presenter Maya Jama.

Meanwhile due to travel restrictions Bruno Tonioli may be forced to step down from the show.

He previously said: “I leave America on Wednesday and come back every Sunday but now it’s impossible and, because of the current travel restrictions, it’s beyond my control.”

“Under the current restrictions they just won’t allow it. I don’t know what’s going to happen,” he added.

Strictly Come Dancing airs on BBC One.