Lauren Oakley

Lauren Oakley
Born	Lauren May Oakley (1991-02-28) 28 February 1991 (age 34) Birmingham, England
Occupation(s)	Ballroom dancer, Latin dancer, choreographer
Known for	Burn the Floor Strictly Come Dancing

Lauren May Oakley (born 28 February 1991) is an English professional dancer and choreographer, best known for appearing as a professional on the BBC One television series Strictly Come Dancing .

Early life

Oakley was born on 28 February 1991 in Birmingham, England. ^{[1] [2]} She began dancing at the age of 2 and began competing in Ballroom and Latin dance at the age of 7. ^[1]

Career

Oakley became Juvenile Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival, winning across both Ballroom and Latin disciplines and also became Under 21 British National Champion before beginning a career on stage. ^[3] She has toured the world as part of the live dance show Burn the Floor and has starred as the "leading lady" in the national tour Him & Me alongside Giovanni Pernice and Anton Du Beke. ^{[4] [5] [6]} and has starred in Pernice's solo tour This Is Me. ^{[7] [8]}

Strictly Come Dancing

In July 2022, Oakley was announced to be joining the twentieth series of Strictly Come Dancing as a professional, along with Vito Coppola, Carlos Gu, and Michelle Tsiakkas. ^[9] Upon her appointment as a professional, Oakley said "[She had] grown up watching Strictly, always hoping that one day [she] could be part of the best show on television, doing what [she loves] the most. Now that it’s happening, it doesn’t quite seem real. I can’t wait to start this new sequined adventure and join this incredible family." ^{[1] [10]} Oakley did not partner a celebrity for her first series, and instead took part in the professional group routines.

The following year, she was paired with presenter and journalist Krishnan Guru-Murthy for the twenty-first series. They were eliminated in the eighth week of the competition after losing the dance off to Angela Rippon and Kai Widdrington.

Oakley returned for the twenty-second series and did not receive a celebrity partner. She danced however, with JLS singer JB Gill in the show's 7th week, standing in for an ill Amy Dowden. ^[11] The following Monday it was confirmed that Oakley would partner Gill for the remainder of the series, as Dowden withdrew from the series due to a foot injury. ^[12] The couple reached the final, but ultimately lost out to Chris McCausland and his partner Dianne Buswell.

Series	Partner	Place	Average Score
21	Krishnan Guru-Murthy	8th	26.4
22	JB Gill	2nd	35.6

Series 21: with celebrity partner Krishnan Guru-Murthy

Week #	Dance / Song	Judges' score					Result
		Horwood	Mabuse	Ballas	Du Beke	Total
1	Cha-cha-cha / "Boom Shack-A-Lak"	5	6	6	5	22	No Elimination
2	Foxtrot / "Love Really Hurts Without You"	4	5	5	6	20	Safe
3	Charleston / "Money, Money"	8	8	7	7	30	Safe
4	Paso Doble / "By the Way"	6	7	7	8	28	Safe
5	Quickstep / "The Lady Is a Tramp"	6	8	8	8	30	Safe
6	Viennese waltz / "Kiss from a Rose"	6	7	6	8	27	Safe
7	Couple's Choice / "You Can Call Me Al"	6	8	8	7	29	Safe
8	Samba / "Bamboléo"	5	7	6	7	25	Eliminated

Series 22: with celebrity partner JB Gill

Week #	Dance / Song	Judges' score					Result
		Horwood	Mabuse	Ballas	Du Beke	Total
7	Couple's Choice / "Uptown Funk", "Treasure", & "24K Magic"	9	10	10	10	39	Safe
8	Samba / "Mas que Nada"	9	9	9	10	37	Safe
9	Quickstep / "Never Gonna Give You Up"	8	9	9	9	35	Safe
10	Charleston / "Yes Sir, That's My Baby" Samba-a-thon / "Conga" — Gloria Estefan & "La Vida Es Un Carnaval" — Celia Cruz	9 Awarded	10 7	10 extra	10 points	39 46	Safe
11	Viennese waltz / "Let's Go Fly a Kite"	9	10	10	10	39	Safe
12	Paso Doble / "Requiem for a Tower" Salsa / "Red Alert"	9 10	10 10	10 10	10 10	39 40	Safe
13	Viennese waltz / "Let's Go Fly a Kite" Showdance / "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" Samba / "Mas que Nada"	10 9 10	10 10 10	10 10 10	10 10 10	40 39 40	Runners-Up

References

1. "Four new pros join the show in 2022!". BBC . 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
2. "Strictly Speaking! Week Four Review - with Lauren Oakley". UK podcasts. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
3. "20 professional dancers confirmed for Strictly Come Dancing series 20, as four new pros join the line-up". BBC . 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
4. "Lauren Oakley at Burn the Floor" . Retrieved 14 July 2022.
5. "Strictly Come Dancing Unveils Four New Professional Dancers". HuffPost . 11 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
6. "New BBC Strictly Come Dancing pro Lauren Oakley has already danced with two former champions". Birmingham Mail. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
7. "Strictly's Giovanni Pernice pays tribute to his 'leading lady' after amazing news". 12 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
8. "Giovanni Pernice kisses new Strictly pro dancer as he brands her his 'leading lady'". Entertainment Daily. 12 July 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
9. "Strictly Come Dancing reveals new professionals joining for 2022". Radio Times . 11 July 2022. Retrieved 13 July 2022.
10. "Strictly Come Dancing 2022: Meet the new Strictly professional dancers!". BBC . 11 July 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2022.
11. Bryant, Tom (28 October 2024). "Strictly star Amy Dowden pulls out of this week's show as BBC issue update". The Mirror. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
12. Grierson, Jamie (4 November 2024). "Injury forces dancer Amy Dowden to leave this year's Strictly". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 4 November 2024.