AJ Pritchard
AJ Pritchard | |
|---|---|
| Born | 5 November 1994 Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, England |
| Known for | Strictly Come Dancing |
| Relatives | Curtis Pritchard (Brother) |
| Website | ajchloe |
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.
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.[4]
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.[citation needed] 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.[5]
In September 2018 Pritchard took part in BBC's Celebrity MasterChef[6] leaving the show after his apple crumble infuriated the judges.[7]
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.[citation needed]
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.[8][9]
Strictly Come Dancing
In 2016 Pritchard appeared as a professional in the BBC dance show, Strictly Come Dancing for its fourteenth series.[10] 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.[11]
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 series where Pritchard failed to reach the semi-final.[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.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Score | Result | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Goodman | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "What Makes You Beautiful" | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 26 | No Elimination |
| 2 | Waltz / "You Light Up My Life" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 3 | Charleston / "You Give a Little Love" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 4 | Foxtrot / "I Really Like You" | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 30 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba/ "Young Hearts Run Free" | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 32 | Safe |
| 6 | American Smooth / "Black Magic" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 7 | Paso Doble / "Shut Up and Dance" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | 33 | Safe |
| 8 | Viennese Waltz / "Breakaway" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| 9 | Jive / "Mickey" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Bottom two |
| 10 | Argentine Tango / "Cry Me a River" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 36 | Safe |
| Cha-cha-cha Challenge /" I Like It Like That" | Awarded 3 extra points | 39 | |||||
| 11 | Salsa / "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | 37 | Safe |
| 12 | Rumba / "Bleeding Love" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 35 | Eliminated |
| Quickstep /" When You're Smiling" | 9 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 38 | ||
Mollie King
For the fifthteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing he partnered English singer-songwriter, presenter and model Mollie King.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Result | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Jive / "Good Golly, Miss Molly" | 4 | 6 | 7 | 6 | No Elimination | 23 |
| 2 | Tango / "Addicted to Love" | 4 | 6 | 8 | 7 | Safe | 25 |
| 3 | American Smooth / "Climb Ev'ry Mountain" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Safe | 30 |
| 4 | Salsa / "Súbeme la Radio" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe | 27 |
| 5 | Viennese Waltz / "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | 8 | 8 | 8 | – | Safe | 24 |
| 6 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Better the Devil You Know" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Bottom two | 27 |
| 7 | Foxtrot / "Call Me Irresponsible" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Bottom two | 27 |
| 8 | Paso Doble / "Layla" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | Safe | 22 |
| 9 | Charleston / "Wings" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Safe | 29 |
| 10 | Quickstep / "Umbrella" | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Safe | 31 |
| Paso Doble-thon | Awarded 2 extra points | 33 | |||||
| 11 | Rumba / "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | 6 | 7 | 9 | 9 | Safe | 31 |
| 12 | Samba / "Whenever, Wherever" | 4 | 7 | 7 | 6 | Eliminated | 24 |
| Waltz / "Angel" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 32 | ||
Lauren Steadman
He partnered British Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman for the sixteenth season of Strictly Come Dancing.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Result | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Bussell | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Waltz / "Kissing You" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | No Elimination | 25 |
| 2 | Charleston / "New Rules" | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | Safe | 22 |
| 3 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "Fame" | 4 | 5 | 5 | 6 | Safe | 20 |
| 4 | Quickstep / "If You're Over Me" | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | Safe | 25 |
| 5 | Couples Choice: Contemporary / "Runnin'" | 4 | 6 | 7 | 7* | Safe | 24 |
| 6 | Paso Doble / "Poison" | 6 | 7 | 8 | 8 | Safe | 29 |
| 7 | Jive / "Girlfriend" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe | 31 |
| 8 | Viennese Waltz / "You Are the Reason" | 8 | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe | 34 |
| 9 | Argentine Tango / "River" | 5 | 6 | 7 | 7 | Safe | 25 |
| 10 | Salsa / "Familiar" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | Safe | 23 |
| Lindy Hop-thon / "Do Your Thing" | Awarded 1 extra point | 24 | |||||
| 11 | American Smooth / "I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Safe | 35 |
| 12 | Tango / "Nutbush City Limits" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Eliminated | 31 |
| Samba / "Rock the Boat" | 5 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 23 | ||
- Score was awarded by guest judge Alfonso Riberio
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.
| Week № | Dance / Song | Judges' scores | Result | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revel Horwood | Mabuse | Ballas | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Tango / "Lips Are Movin" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | No Elimination | 27 |
| 2 | Cha-Cha-Cha / "One Touch" | 5 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Safe | 23 |
| 3 | Paso Doble / "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe | 28 |
| 4 | Contemporary / "Because You Loved Me" | 7 | 8 | 9 | 9 | Safe | 33 |
| 5 | Foxtrot / “Theme From ''New York, New York” | 9 | 10 | 9 | 10* | Safe | 38 |
| 6 | Jive / "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 9 | Safe | 33 |
| 7 | Salsa / "Instruction" | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Safe | 27 |
| 8 | Waltz / "Your Song" | 9 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Safe | 39 |
| 9 | Quickstep / "I Went to a Marvellous Party" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 9 | Bottom Two | 35 |
| 10 | Samba / "Walking on Sunshine" | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Eliminated | 26 |
- Score was awarded by guest judge Alfonso Riberio
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. AJ is also currently dating, professional dancer, Abbie Quinnen. AJ and Abbie announced their relationship by a photo on the cover of the magazine OK.
References
- ^ "AJ.Chloe European, British Open, National & United Kingdom Champions". ajchloe.com. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
- ^ "Three more new pro-dancers for 2016". Strictly Come Dancing. 26 July 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ "North Staffordshire dancer's Strictly partner announced". Stoke Sentinel. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
- ^ Little John, Georgina (10 December 2016). "Who is AJ Pritchard? Meet the Strictly Come Dancing 2016 professional". The Sun. Retrieved 5 January 2017.
- ^ "Curtis & Emily – Pritchards' Dance and Fitness". dancepdf.co.uk. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
- ^ "Meet the five famous faces on tonight's Celebrity MasterChef".
- ^ 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.
- ^ Miller, Adam. "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard confirmed for RuPaul's Drag Race UK - seriously". Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard joins Ru Paul's Drag Race as guest judge". Radio Times. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing - AJ Pritchard". BBC.
