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Curtis Pritchard (born 8 February 1996) is an English dancer and choreographer, known for his role as a professional dancer on the Irish version of Dancing with the Stars. In 2019, Pritchard appeared in the fifth series of the British dating reality series Love Island, finishing in fourth place.

Early life

Pritchard was born on 8 February 1996 in Sneyd Green, Stoke-on-Trent, England.

Career

Dancing with the Stars

In 2017, Pritchard was announced as one of the professional dancers for the first series of Ireland's Dancing with the Stars. He was partnered with model Thalia Heffernan. They were eliminated in week four of the competition, finishing in tenth place.

In 2018, Pritchard was partnered with businesswoman Norah Casey. On 21 January, Casey and Pritchard became the first couple to be eliminated from the competition.

For the 2019 series, Pritchard was due to be partnered with model Holly Carpenter, but following an attack on 27 December 2018, he was ruled out competing for five weeks. He was replaced by former Strictly Come Dancing professional, Trent Whiddon. In November 2019, Pritchard confirmed that he would not return for a fourth series.

Series 1 (2017)

Celebrity partner

Thalia Heffernan; Average: 19; Place: 10th

Series 2 (2018)

Celebrity partner

Norah Casey; Average: 16; Place: 11th

Other ventures

In June 2019, Pritchard began appearing as a contestant on the fifth series of the ITV2 dating reality series Love Island. In July 2019, it was announced that Pritchard, along with his brother AJ, would appear as guest choreographers on the BBC Three reality series RuPaul's Drag Race UK. In December 2019 Pritchard appeared alongside his Love Island colleague Tommy Fury in a series called The Boxer and The Ballroom Dancer on ITV2 in which they swapped careers, with Pritchard taking up boxing and Fury trying ballroom dancing. 2020, saw him appear in BBC One's The Greatest Dancer as a receptionist. Later that year, it was announced that he would be starring in Celebs Go Dating: The Mansion. In February 2021, it was announced that Pritchard would be making his acting debut in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks, alongside his brother. He portrayed the role of Jacob; their acting abilities were the subject of widespread criticism. In February 2023, Pritchard competed on the reality-competition series The Challenge UK. In November 2023, Pritchard was a contestant on the first season of Love Island Games.

Personal life

From 2016 Pritchard was in a relationship with fellow Dancing with the Stars professional dancer, Emily Barker. In early 2019 it was reported the couple were no longer an item.

On 27 December 2018, he and his brother AJ, along with two others, were attacked in an "unprovoked assault" on a night out in Nantwich. He needed an emergency operation to his knee and was unable to appear on Dancing with the Stars. A 20-year-old man was arrested and released.

Pritchard began dating Maura Higgins following their appearance together on Love Island. In March 2020, Higgins confirmed that they had split.

References

1. Soguksu, Ayla (8 February 2020). "Love Island's Maura Higgins pens sweet birthday message to Curtis Pritchard". OK! Magazine. Archived from the original on 26 September 2020. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
2. McGowan, Sharon (16 December 2016). "RTE's Dancing With The Stars professionals have been revealed". irishmirror. Archived from the original on 21 December 2018. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
3. Costello, Emma (10 January 2017). "WATCH: Thalia Heffernan shows sneak peak[sic] of dancing debut". Goss.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
4. Hutch, Eleanore (29 January 2017). "[SPOILER] Goes Home In DWTS In SHOCKING Elimination". EVOKE.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
5. Bruton, Louise. "Dancing with the Stars: no Hollywood ending for Thalia Heffernan as she's voted off". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 6 April 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
6. "DWTS contestant Norah Casey on training regime: 'I'm already a stone lighter and I'm almost an inch taller'". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
7. "Norah Casey becomes the first contestant to hang up her dancing shoes on DWTS". Independent.ie. Archived from the original on 22 December 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
8. "DWTS reveals Holly Carpenter's new dance partner". 4 January 2019. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 20 November 2019 – via www.rte.ie. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
9. O'Loughlin, Mikie (4 November 2019). "Curtis Pritchard officially QUITS RTE's Dancing with the Stars after three years". rsvp. Archived from the original on 4 November 2019. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
10. "Who is Curtis Pritchard? Meet the Love Island series 5 contestant and Dancing with the Stars professional". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 27 May 2019. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
11. Miller, Adam (24 July 2019). "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.
12. "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.
13. "Love Island's Tommy Fury and Curtis Pritchard swap lives in new TV series". Metro. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 2 February 2023.
14. "Curtis Pritchard joins BBC One's The Greatest Dancer". BBC. Archived from the original on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 8 August 2019.
15. "Corrie star signs up for Celebs Go Dating with Wayne Lineker also in the line-up". Manchester Evening News. 25 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
16. "AJ and Curtis Pritchard to join Hollyoaks as twin brothers in first acting role". Daily Mirror. 7 February 2021. Archived from the original on 7 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
17. Anderton, Joe (24 May 2021). "AJ and Curtis Pritchard respond to backlash over their acting in Hollyoaks appearance". Digital Spy. Hearst Magazines UK. Retrieved 24 May 2021.
18. Cartmill, Claire. "The Challenge UK is a sporting fight for £100,000". News Letter. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
19. "Love Island Games cast: Full line-up of contestants". Radio Times. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
20. Townsend, Michelle (4 January 2019). "Emily Barker and boyfriend Curtis Pritchard break up". RSVP Live. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
21. "Strictly star AJ attacked at a nightclub". BBC Newsbeat. 29 December 2018. Archived from the original on 29 December 2018. Retrieved 29 December 2018.
22. Harp, Justin (2 March 2020). "Love Island's Maura Higgins confirms split from Curtis Pritchard". Digital Spy. Retrieved 10 September 2021.

External links

• Curtis Pritchard at IMDb
• Curtis Pritchard on Twitter

• 1996 births
• Living people
• British ballroom dancers
• Love Island (2015 TV series) contestants
• People from Stoke-on-Trent
• Participants in American reality television series