Strictly’s JB Gill drops huge hint about his pro partner – and reveals his ‘biggest competition’ after secret rehearsals
STRICTLY Come Dancing hopeful JB Gill has given fans a clue about his professional partner.
The celebrity and pro pairings are yet to be announced but it hasn’t stopped the JLS star talking about who he is with.
JB dropped a hint about who he will be hitting the dancefloor with when speaking to Fleur East, who will once again co-host spin-off show Strictly: It Takes Two.
Chatting to Fleur on her Hits Radio show, the 37-year-old singer ruled out a same-sex pairing.
In 2020, boxer Nicola Adams and pro Katya Jones became the first couple of the same sex to compete on Strictly.
Since then, celeb chef John Waite was paired with Johannes Radabe, along with comedienne Jayde Adams and Karen Hauer, and Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin.
Ruling this out, however, JB said to Fleur: “It’s a lady. She can dance.”
He added: “When I found out who I got I was over the moon. I was so excited.
“I’ve met them before and they were so lovely.”
During their chat, JB went on to reveal who he thinks will be his biggest competition in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.
In fact, he proceeded to reel off a list.
“I genuinely believe there’s some really talented dancers in the group,” he said. “I know Sarah Hadland, I’ve worked with her before with the boys and she’s such a bundle of energy and I know she’s got some hips and toes in there.
“Shayne [Ward], of course, he comes from a performing background as well. I know him very well from The X Factor and I know that he’s definitely going to be good.
“Tasha [Ghouri]…she’s danced, although it will be a different style of dancing, similarly to me. She’s got that element of performance, she’s definitely going to be one to watch.”
JB added: “There’s so many different people. Jamie [Borthwick] won the Christmas special last year.
“I know he’s getting a bit of stick for that, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything else in terms of the longevity of the show, but he’s definitely going to be one to watch as well.”
It was previously revealed that JB has been having secret rehearsals at home with his wife Chloe, who is a professional dancer.
She has even shared hilarious TikTok videos of his ‘at home preparation’ with fans online.
Strictly Come Dancing kicks off this weekend on BBC One. This year, the show is marking 20 years on the small screen.
Two weeks ago, JB was linked to professional dancer Karen Hauer thanks to eagle-eyed fans.
Writing on an online forum, a viewer said: “So I think we have another ‘confirmed pairing’.
Strictly's full scandal so far
Strictly Come Dancing's scandal has been growing over the past few months, with several major players speaking out about what went on. Here are the key moments of what's happened so far
16th May: Giovanni Pernice sensationally quits Strictly Come Dancing after nine years on the show.
17th May: Giovanni becomes the centre of an official investigation after three former partners – believed to be Amanda Abbington, Laura Whitmore and Ranvir Singh – make complaints to the BBC.
16th June: Giovanni releases an official statement vowing to clear his name and denies any wrongdoing.
8th July: Strictly confirms Aljaz Skorjanec will return to the series, replacing Giovanni, after initially quitting the show two years ago.
10th July: Amanda Abbington launches fresh legal proceedings to get the rehearsal footage from her time with Giovanni, after allegedly he refused to release the videos.
13th July: Graziano Di Prima is axed from Strictly for “gross misconduct” after footage of his treatment of Zara McDermott is brought to the attention of the BBC.
Graziano quickly broke his silence, apologising for his behaviour in a statement and saying he “deeply regrets it”, adding his “intense passion and determination to win might have affected his training regime.”
15th July: Strictly bosses implement new duty of care protocols, including having a chaperone present throughout all rehearsals.
16th July: Zara McDermott speaks out publicly for first time. She states while the production team were “amazing to work with”, she found the rehearsal room “completely different”, confirming there’s footage of “certain situations”.
19th July: Anton Du Beke is put under the spotlight for his “1970s attitude” and treatment of female celeb stars, particularly after allegedly referring to 2009 partner Laila Rouass as a “p***” after getting a spray tan.
21st July: Paralympian Will Bayley, who has limb condition arthrogryposis, revealed he was encouraged to leap from a table during a dance routine, despite fears. The stunt caused an injury that forced him to withdraw from the show.
22nd July: MasterChef’s Gregg Wallace admits he broke down in tears and got a nasty stress rash on his face during his time on Strictly in 2014.
22nd July: Despite ongoing issues, the Strictly professional cast begin rehearsals for this year’s series.
23rd July: Celebrity agent Melanie Blake claims she was sexually assaulted by an unnamed pro dancer while backstage on the show, and claims she witnessed ageism, rudeness and a rough treatment to the point of injury.
23rd July: Strictly is forced to beef up security after ‘an intruder scales the wall of the rehearsal studio’.
23rd July: BBC boss Tim Davie breaks his silence on the ongoing allegations against Strictly, saying he is ‘deeply sorry’, adding: “Hundreds of people, be they pros, contestants or crew have been part of it and had a brilliant experience.
“At the same time if someone thinks there was something wrong or they want to talk about their experience then of course we want them to raise that with us. Be in no doubt we will take it seriously, listen and deal with it as appropriate.”
24th July: Strictly 2023 star Krishnan Guru-Murthy holds a bombshell interview with Amanda Abbington on Channel 4 news, where she claims she was bullied, with some of the ‘humilation being of a sexual nature’.
27th July: Laura Whitmore releases a statement regarding her Strictly experience, saying “I thought my experience was specific to me but I’ve since learned I was wrong”.
She adds she is not part of the official complaint, but has come forward to support Amanda with the BBC, alongside others.
28th July: Laila Rouass speaks out against the accusations regarding Anton Du Beke, saying she “never felt pressured” by him and “personally insisted on six to seven hours training a day”.
10th August: Graziano breaks his silence on his Strictly axe, saying “these vile, false allegations have ruined my life.”
He also told of the “shocking” end to his friendship with Zara McDermott.
We also revealed that Amanda Abbington was also quizzed for a second time as Strictly execs recruited 15 new staff to monitor rehearsals.
11th August: Just as the investigation was expected to conclude, Amanda made a dramatic intervention. Giovanni was on the brink of being cleared until Amanda handed in more text messages.
24th August: Graziano Di Prima called in top lawyers to sue the BBC and to try to clear his name. He recruited big hitters Whitestone Chambers to fight his corner.
A source said: “They’ve also looked at his BBC contract and believe there are grounds to sue.”
Meanwhile, the BBC also delayed releasing the findings of the probe into Giovanni Pernice. The Sun revealed that the results of the three-month investigation were unlikely to be announced in August.
“Make up artist Liv posted on insta with Karen earlier filming her meet the partner at the o2 arena.
“JB’s wife has now just posted a photo of him at the O2 Arena today saying Strictly is getting very real.”
Each year, Strictly bosses do their utmost to keep the celebrity and professional pairings top secret until launch night.
However, this year’s lineup has apparently already been leaked online.
The social media account which infamously leaks which couple lose out in the dance-off each week is said to have published the list.
Some fans have discussed it on the social forum Reddit and said whether they had guessed the pairings correctly.