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AJ Pritchard sparks fears he’s quit Strictly Come Dancing

Pro dancer is starring in panto

AJ Pritchard has sent fans into meltdown with his latest Instagram post as they are worried it means he’s quit Strictly Come Dancing.

The pro dancer has revealed he’s starring in panto this year as Peter Pan.

Posting a promo shot of him in costume, AJ captioned the snap: “YES I get to fly… Playing Peter Pan. Super excited. (16th December 2019 to 5 January).”

Read more: Darcey Bussell says she’ll still watch Strictly following her departure

As many fans expressed their excitement, others were concerned this would mean he’d miss the Strictly final – or even miss the whole series.

“What about Strictly?” asked one.

“No strictly then?” enquired another, and a third said: “Does this mean you’re not doing Strictly this year?”

But it would seem that’s not the case.

The panto begins on December 10, but AJ won’t be in it until December 16, which is a Monday – suggesting the final of Strictly will be the weekend of December 14 and 15.

Louis Smith, who won Strictly in 2012, did point out in his comment that rehearsals for the panto will be tough though.

“Rehearsals will be tricky if you make finals or semis on Strictly,” before adding: “If anyone can do it you can bro.”

In fact, Strictly has already confirmed the pro dancers for 2019’s series – and AJ is one of them.

Fans have loved AJ on Strictly since his 2016 debut where he reached the semi-final with gymnast Claudia Fragapane.

He also reached the semi-final in 2017 with Mollie King, who he was rumoured to be romancing too. 

In 2018, he partnered Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman and once again he just missed out on the final.

Lauren Steadman and AJ Pritchard were eliminated from Strictly (Credit: BBC)
Lauren and AJ were popular (Credit: BBC)

Could 2019 be his year?

AJ is currently supporting his younger brother Curtis, who has entered the Love Island villa.

The dancer shared a snap with Curtis on Instagram and revealed he was feeling “proud” of his little brother ahead of the new series.

AJ shared this snap with his brother (Credit: @aj11ace Instagram)

The 24-year-old posted: “I’m so proud of you @curtispritchard12 .. can’t wait to watch, SUPPORT  and laugh at you 😂🤣🙈 @loveisland #family.”

The brothers are extremely close and have always supported each other’s careers. Curtis is also a dancer on Ireland’s Dancing With The Stars.

Curtis has already found himself in an “exclusive” relationship in the villa (Credit: ITV)

Read more: Love Island star announces pregnancy

Curtis has coupled up with Amy Hart and the pair are the self-styled ‘mum and dad’ of the villa.

They declared themselves “exclusive” earlier this week, but hit the rocks in Wednesday night’s episode.

Will you be going to see AJ in panto? Let us know by leaving a comment on our Facebook page @EntertainmentDailyFix!


Carena Crawford
Associate Editor (Soaps)