SA’s Cameron Lombard Set to Become UK Strictly Come Dancing’s Youngest Partnered Dancer

‘Strictly Come Dancing’ in the UK is set to sign its youngest ever partnered professional dancer – none other than 21-year-old South African dancer Cameron Lombard!

Bosses on the hit BBC dance show are lining up Cameron to replace Aljaz Skorjanec, who announced that he was leaving the programme earlier this week.

Cameron joined the Strictly Come Dancing dance troupe last year but wasn’t paired with a celebrity. However, he has impressed bosses behind the scenes on the series and the subsequent live tour.

A ‘Strictly’ source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre TV column: “Cameron is a big character, as well as a hugely talented dancer. He was disappointed not to get a partner for the last series but 2022 is set to be his year.

“He’s already a favourite with hardcore ‘Strictly’ fans who have seen him on tour, and bosses are confident mainstream audiences will follow suit.”

Cameron was a finalist on ‘South Africa’s Got Talent’ a decade ago, when he was just 12, and had set up his own dance school for youngsters.

He is also good friends with his fellow South African professional dancer Johannes Radebe – who made his debut on the programme in 2019.

The BBC are yet to confirm which pros will be getting celebrity partners when the 20th series of ‘Strictly’ begins in the autumn.

Aljaz recently announced that he was to leave ‘Strictly’ after nine years and revealed that he had made the decision “a little while ago”.

The star – who won the show with Abbey Clancy in 2013 – said on Instagram: “On a beautiful sunny day in May 2013 one phone call changed my life forever!

“It went like this… we would like to offer you a position on @bbcstrictly as a professional dancer. A dream became a reality and it was the biggest opportunity for a 23 year old boy from Slovenia. It didn’t matter how many beautiful ballrooms I performed in during my competitive career, stepping onto the sacred Strictly floor was the most nervous I had ever been.

“A little while ago I made the tough decision that Strictly 2021 would be my last. The show has given me an opportunity and freedom to create and express myself in front of millions of people every weekend for the last 9 years. The love and support I got from the team of producers was second to none. Louise Rainbow, Sarah James, Kim Winston, Jack Gledhill are just a few of the unsung heroes behind the success of the show – I am forever grateful to them! (sic)”

Those opportunities will now be afforded to the young South African, who was once expelled from a Cape Flats school. The incident happened about four years ago, when Cameron was going through an incredibly tough time in his life, after his parents divorced. Today he’s an ambassador for a Climate Action group and is dancing his way into hearts around the world.

Since the age of five, Cameron has been dancing… turning his back on playing soccer and cricket with his pals to devote his life to ballroom dancing. He was so determined to succeed, he never missed a single lesson, and his parents Chris and Charlene were always there to watch him as he strutted his stuff with his teacher in Cape Town. He became National Champion in Ballroom and Latin American dancing at Juvenile, Junior, Youth then Adult level.

Cameron’s big break came when a producer from BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing visited South Africa to help on their version of the show and talent-spotted Cameron as a dancer.

In South Africa, Strictly Come Dancing UK is on DStv.

Sources: Bang Showbiz (Reuters) and Jamie Pyatt News Ltd