AJ Pritchard

Alex Joseph Pritchard (born 5 November 1994),[1] known professionally as AJ Pritchard, is a British dancer, choreographer, and television personality. In 2013, he auditioned for the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent along with his partner Chloe Hewitt, where they reached the semi-finals. From 2016 to 2019, Pritchard appeared as a professional dancer on the BBC One dance series Strictly Come Dancing.[2] In 2020, he participated in the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!

AJ Pritchard
Born
Alex Joseph Pritchard

(1994-11-05) 5 November 1994
Eton, England
Occupation
  • Dancer
  • choreographer
  • television personality
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]

In November 2020, it was announced that Pritchard would be contestant on the twentieth series of I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here. He became the seventh celebrity to be eliminated alongside Mo Farah on 2 December.

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]

Highest and lowest scoring performances per dance
Dance Partner Highest Partner Lowest
American Smooth Claudia Fragapane 36 Mollie King 30
Argentine Tango Claudia Fragapane 36 Lauren Steadman 25
Cha-Cha-Cha Mollie King 27 Lauren Steadman 20
Charleston Claudia Fragapane 36 Lauren Steadman 22
Couple's Choice Saffron Barker (contemporary) 33 Lauren Steadman (contemporary) 24
Foxtrot Saffron Barker 38 Mollie King 27
Jive Claudia Fragapane 36 Mollie King 23
Paso Doble Claudia Fragapane 33 Mollie King 22
Quickstep Claudia Fragapane 38 Lauren Steadman 25
Rumba Claudia Fragapane 35 Mollie King 31
Salsa Claudia Fragapane 37 Lauren Steadman 23
Samba Claudia Fragapane 32 Lauren Steadman 23
Showdance
Something-athon Claudia Fragapane 3 Lauren Steadman 1
Tango Lauren Steadman 31 Mollie King 25
Viennese Waltz Claudia Fragapane 36 Mollie King 32
Waltz Saffron Barker 39 Lauren Steadman 25
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

Pritchard has OCD[13] and dyslexia.[14] 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.[15]

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. Archived from the original on 18 September 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". Archived from the original on 15 September 2018. Retrieved 14 September 2018.
  6. Daly, Helen (21 September 2018). "Celebrity MasterChef 2018: AJ Pritchard sparks fan outrage as BBC viewers spot THIS". Express.co.uk. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
  7. Miller, Adam. "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard confirmed for RuPaul's Drag Race UK - seriously". Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  8. "Love Island's Curtis Pritchard joins Ru Paul's Drag Race as guest judge". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 26 July 2019. 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. Archived from the original on 27 September 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. Archived from the original on 21 June 2019. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
  12. Daly, Helen (26 March 2020). "AJ Pritchard quits BBC show – here's why". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2020. Retrieved 28 March 2020.
  13. "AJ Pritchard reveals OCD struggle". Female First. Archived from the original on 8 December 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
  14. "Curtis and AJ Pritchard reveal struggles with dyslexia growing up and being left anxious". OK!. Archived from the original on 15 October 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
  15. "Strictly star AJ Pritchard and dancer brother Curtis injured in 'unprovoked' attack". Sky News. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2021.
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