[Nicky91]

AJ Pritchard, a former pupil at Brine Leas high school in Nantwich, overcame placing bottom of the leaderboard with his partner Lauren Steadman to survive another week of the competition

Strictly Come Dancing fans in Cheshire are being urged to get behind a local professional and his partner after they were saved by a public vote this weekend.

As they continue to chase the elusive Glitterball Trophy, professional dancer AJ Pritchard, who was educated at Brine Leas School in Nantwich, has been kept in the competition for another week along with his partner - Paralympic athlete Lauren Steadman - despite coming bottom of the leaderboard on Saturday night.

They came last in this week's competition at the prestigious Tower Ballroom in Blackpool but thanks to the public vote they were kept in the competition.

And AJ's father Adrian Pritchard, who runs Pritchard’s Dance and Fitness in Burleydam with his wife Debi, told CheshireLive that the support from the public has meant the world to both AJ and Lauren.

Speaking of the public support which saved Lauren and AJ at the weekend, Adrian said: "That's absolutely terrific. The general public like what they see and they appreciate what she (Lauren) is trying to do under very difficult circumstances, and AJ has honestly got so much credit for her because she is getting on with the job."

Triple paralympian and world champion athlete Lauren was born missing her lower right arm, but Adrian said that her attitude towards the competition in spite of that difficulty has been inspiring and something that both he and AJ give her "so much credit for".

He added: "They are working very hard and I give so much credit to Lauren. She doesn't complain, she gets on with the job.

"There are certain steps that he (AJ) would normally do and in Lauren's case, in some cases she cannot do, so AJ has had to change the choreography and holds and adapted to Lauren.

"Going on that I have got to give this girl so much credit, and I think AJ feels the same - she doesn't complain, doesn't moan about it and just gets on."

The support from the public, Adrian added, therefore means so much to both of them as it reflects the hard work that both AJ and Lauren are putting in, and he added his hope that people will continue to support them throughout the competition.

"They cannot thank the public enough for the support, to give her another chance to see what she can do," he added.

"I think you can see that when they are performing, and the respect they have for each other, and that's great. I think it shows how grateful they are of the public, and Lauren is just training to do the best that she can."

https://www.cheshire-live.co.uk/news...mpression=true


we love a supporting family, and AJ's dad has visited them at training a few times, he also has good connections within the ballroom world, his mum Debi is a yoga instructor, and his brother Curtis is a dancer at DWTS Ireland