AJ Pritchard

Alex Joseph "AJ" Pritchard (born 5 November 1994)[1] is a British dancer and choreographer, best known for his role as a professional dancer in the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing.[2] In 2013, Pritchard auditioned for the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent along with his partner Chloe Hewitt and reached the semi-finals.

AJ Pritchard
Born (1994-11-05) 5 November 1994
Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, England
Known forStrictly Come Dancing
RelativesCurtis Pritchard (Brother)
Websiteajchloe.com

Early life

Pritchard was born in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent.[3] He began dancing at the age of 12, and his parents partnered him with Chloe Hewitt from their dance school. Together, they have represented Britain in dance competitions around the world, and won the National Youth Latin Championships for three consecutive years between 2012 and 2014. In 2015, AJ & Chloe also became the British Open Youth Latin Champions and the European Youth Latin Champions, as well as making it to the semi final in Britain's Got Talent in 2013.

Britain's Got Talent and other television

In 2013, Pritchard and his professional dance partner Chloe Hewitt auditioned for Britain's Got Talent, receiving acclaim from the judges and audience. The pair eventually reached the live semi-finals.

AJ has a younger brother, Curtis, a fellow professional, who appears on Dancing with the Stars in Ireland and has toured with Natalie Lowe, Louis Smith and Jay McGuiness in the stage show Rip It Up.[4]

In September 2018 Pritchard took part in BBC's Celebrity MasterChef[5] leaving the show after his apple crumble infuriated the judges.[6]

In October 2018 he partnered Louis Smith in the celebrity version of Hunted, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. Pritchard and Smith split up during the series, leading to Smith being caught on Day 9 and Pritchard eventually going on to win the show on Day 14, alongside MP Johnny Mercer.

In July 2019, it was announced that Pritchard, along with his brother Curtis, would appear as guest choreographers on the BBC Three reality series RuPaul's Drag Race UK.[7][8]

Strictly Come Dancing
Main article: Strictly Come Dancing

In 2016, Pritchard appeared as a professional in the BBC dance show, Strictly Come Dancing for its fourteenth series.[9] He was partnered with Olympic artistic gymnast Claudia Fragapane. They were eliminated in the semi-finals on 11 December 2016, finishing in 4th place overall. In his first series, Pritchard received praise for his innovative choreography.[10]

Pritchard returned to Strictly the following year for his second series, and was partnered with Mollie King, a singer and former member of girl group The Saturdays. The pair made it to week 12, being knocked out at the semi-final stage and finishing in 5th place overall.

In his third series, in 2018, he was partnered with British Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman. They were eliminated at the semi-final stage, finishing in 5th place, in Pritchard's third consecutive semi-final elimination.

In March 2019, Pritchard was confirmed to be returning to Strictly for his fourth series. In September 2019. it was revealed that he would partner vlogger Saffron Barker. They were eliminated on week 10, making this the first and only series where Pritchard failed to reach the semi-final.[11]

Despite being confirmed in the 2020 professional line-up, on 26 March 2020, Pritchard announced that he was leaving the show in order to pursue a career in presenting.[12]

Series Partner Place Average
Score
14 Claudia Fragapane 4th 33.9
15 Mollie King 5th 27.7
16 Lauren Steadman 5th 26.7
17 Saffron Barker 6th 30.9

Claudia Fragapane

He partnered Olympic artistic gymnast Claudia Fragapane for the fourteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Mollie King

For the fifteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing he partnered English singer-songwriter, presenter and model Mollie King.

Lauren Steadman

He partnered British Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman for the sixteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.

Saffron Barker

He partnered television presenter YouTube personality and author Saffron Barker for the seventeenth season of Strictly Come Dancing. They were eliminated in week 10, coming sixth.

Personal life

On 27 December 2018, Pritchard and his brother Curtis, along with two others, were attacked in an "unprovoked assault" on a night out in Nantwich. Pritchard suffered bruising to his face, arms, legs and body, while Curtis needed an emergency operation to his knee and would no longer appear on Dancing with the Stars in Ireland in January 2019.[13] AJ is also currently dating professional dancer Abbie Quinnen. AJ and Abbie announced their relationship by interview with magazine OK.[14]

References
  1. "AJ.Chloe European, British Open, National & United Kingdom Champions". ajchloe.com. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  2. "Three more new pro-dancers for 2016". Strictly Come Dancing. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  3. "North Staffordshire dancer's Strictly partner announced". Stoke Sentinel. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  4. "Curtis & Emily – Pritchards' Dance and Fitness". dancepdf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  5. "Meet the five famous faces on tonight's Celebrity MasterChef".
  6. Daly, Helen (21 September 2018). "Celebrity MasterChef 2018: AJ Pritchard sparks fan outrage as BBC viewers spot THIS". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  7. Miller, Adam. "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard confirmed for RuPaul's Drag Race UK - seriously". Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  8. "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard joins Ru Paul's Drag Race as guest judge". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  9. "Strictly Come Dancing 2016: show announces new young professionals...and they've previously been on Britain's Got Talent". The Telegraph. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  10. Patterson, Michael (21 December 2016). "Why Claudia & AJ Are The Real Winners of BBC's 'Strictly Come Dancing' 2016". moviepilot.com. Archived from the original on 6 January 2017. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
  11. "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - AJ Pritchard". BBC.
  12. Daly, Helen (26 March 2020). "AJ Pritchard quits BBC show – here's why". Radio Times. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  13. "Strictly star AJ Pritchard and dancer brother Curtis injured in 'unprovoked' attack". Sky News. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
  14. Meechan, Lauren (21 October 2019). "AJ Pritchard: Strictly pro and girlfriend speak out on curse 'Things can look a bit dodgy'". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 4 January 2020.
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