BBC Strictly Come Dancing's JB Gill has 'tough' week amid pal Liam Payne's funeral
Strictly Come Dancing contestant JB Gill previously paid tribute to the late One Direction member Liam Payne, describing his former X Factor co-star as a 'very good friend'
It is said to have been a "tough" week for Strictly Come Dancing contestant JB Gill, whose late friend Liam Payne was laid to rest at a service held just a few days ago.
Liam - best known as a member of One Direction - passed away, aged 31, last month after falling from the balcony of a hotel in Argentina. His funeral was held at St Mary's Church in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, on Wednesday.
A host of celebrities were among the guests at the service, including JLS member Marvin Humes and his wife Rochelle Humes, who was a member of the group the Saturdays. Marvin's bandmate JB, 37, reportedly wasn't in attendance.
According to the Daily Mail, whilst other pals were at the service earlier this week, JB was in rehearsals for Strictly with his dance partner Lauren Oakley. It reports that JB has said it's been a "tough" week for him amid the funeral.
The outlet adds that in a "cruel irony" JB - who recently described Liam has having been "a very good friend" - will be dancing a Charleston, rather than a more sombre style of dance. JB and Lauren are set to perform to Firehouse Five Plus Two's Yes Sir! That's My Baby on Saturday night.
JB first met Liam in 2008 when they respectively auditioned for the X Factor. Liam auditioned as a solo artist at the time, whilst JB was part of the group JLS alongside Marvin and their bandmates Aston Merrygold and Oritsé Williams.
Unlike JLS, Liam didn't make it through to the live shows that year. He however returned to the X Factor two years later and ended up in One Direction with his bandmates Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Harry Styles, and Louis Tomlinson.
JB paid tribute to Liam last month whilst speaking to the Daily Mail and described him as "a very good friend" while recalling having been on the ITV show together. And he described Liam's passing as "incredibly sad" in the interview.
He also shared that he would "love" to perform a routine to one of Liam's songs whilst on Strictly, with JB among the remaining contestants on the latest series of the BBC show, which launched in September. As previously reported, he told the outlet recently: "If there's an opportunity, I'd love to [dance to one of his songs]. It'd be an incredible tribute."
JB is among the seven remaining contestants on Strictly. So far in the new series, he's topped the leaderboard on three occasions and been in the dance-off once. Alongside their Charleston, JB and Lauren - like the other remaining couples - will also take part in a Samba-thon on the show this week.
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