AJ Pritchard will "think twice" when fans approach him after he and his brother were attacked in a nightclub over the festive period.
The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ pro surprised his dance partner, Paralympian Lauren Steadman, on entertainment show ‘Lorraine’ on Friday morning (04.01.19), and he joked she could be his new security guard after he and sibling Curtis Pritchard were set upon at a Cheshire club.
Speaking on the show, he said: "There is security on the ‘Strictly’ tour.
"Lauren could be my bodyguard. I wouldn’t want to get in her way, I’ve seen her in the studio.
"But it’s a sad situation but we’re [AJ and Curtis] both better now.
"I’ll be thinking twice when someone approaches me now."
AJ and Lauren will reunite again on Monday (07.01.19) when they start rehearsals for the ‘Strictly’ tour, and the 24-year-old dancer can’t wait to team up with her again.
He said: "I don’t think you know how excited I am to do the tour. We get to dance together again.
"We start rehearsing on Monday and then I’ve got my own tour in March."
AJ also praised Lauren’s mentality on the show, admitting she was "so positive" throughout the series.
He explained: "It’s fantastic to have a partner like Lauren, to be so positive. To go out there and show people that anything is possible.
"That mentality of, ‘I will do it.’ "
Lauren – who was born without a complete right arm – added: "That was our motivation each and every week. We had such an influx of beautiful messages and letters."
AJ recently admitted he fears going out in "larger crowds" following the nightclub attack, which left fellow dancer Curtis with torn knee cartilage.
He said: "If someone comes up to me and asks me for a photo, if they do it politely, I’m always going to say yes.
"It [the incident] has made me very aware of putting myself in a scenario of larger crowds.
"Obviously I’m doing the ‘Strictly’ tour coming up and I will think twice …
"The really sad thing in this scenario was that we were just out to have a good time, and it came from nowhere.
"There was none of us in the first place causing a hassle or anything, we were not there for that scenario, that’s what is really sad for us."
AJ Pritchard will ‘think twice’ about fan approach following attack
