BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Lauren Oakley supported by Giovanni Pernice and co-stars over loss of 'biggest fan'

Strictly Come Dancing star Lauren Oakley has been supported by her co-stars and fans after sharing the upsetting loss of her 'biggest fan'. The dancer is currently in rehearsals for her 'leading lady' role in Giovanni Pernice's upcoming mammoth tour.

The Italian dancer once again enlisted his fellow Strictly pro Lauren for his Let Me Entertain You live tour. The pair will kick things off later this month, on January 18, in Hayes at the Beck Theatre and travel up and down the country right through until the end of April where the tour will end at the New Victoria Theatre in Woking.

But amids the preperation, Lauren has shared the hearbreaking news of the death of her grandmother. The 32-year-old, who joined Strictly in 2022 before gtting her first celebrity partner - Krishnan Guru-Murthy - last year, took to Instagram to confirm the sad loss alongside pictures and videos of the pair together.

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In one clip, Lauren can be seen putting an arm around her grandmother as she pulled her in and they both smiled for the camera. Another video showed Lauren pushing her along on her walker as they were asked to wave for the camera.

Tagging the location as her home city of Birmingham, Lauren penned: "In my heart forever and always. When I dance, you’ll be there. My biggest fan. I’ll miss you every day." Giovanni was among the first to respond to the post with just a simple red heart emoji while fellow Strictly co-stars Dianne Buswell and Motsi Mabuse also followed suit.

Gorka Marquez commented: "Sending you lots of love," while