‘We're our own worst critics'

AJ and Curtis Pritchard talk to new about keeping fit, their TV plans and struggles with dyslexia

- GEMMA MCCARTNEY

When we call AJ and Curtis Pritchard for a chat, they are both in a chipper mood – no change there then. They’ve spent the past 11 weeks living with their parents in Stoke-on-Trent, along with AJ’s dancer girlfriend Abbie Quinnen – and they’ve all been getting on like a house on fire.

“We’ve got a good routine,” Curtis, 24, who split up with his Love Island girlfriend Maura Higgins in March, tells us. “We get up as a family, do a workout, do some sunbathing and then a bit of baking.”

The brothers have teamed up with the British Dyslexia Association to raise awareness of the condition. They were both diagnosed at a young age and tell us how they still overcome challenges. “I’ll pick a newspaper up, read a paragraph or two out loud and that challenges me each day,” AJ, 25, says.

Here, the pro dancers reveal their thoughts on Love Island being cancelled, whether Strictly should still go ahead and how they have learnt to live with their dyslexia…

Hi guys! What are you missing most from normal life?

AJ: Going back into a TV studio, rather than sitting in my pyjama bottoms on a Zoom chat. I don’t know if my trousers will still fit me any more!

Curtis: You’re lucky if you get him with the pyjama bottoms on! We love to perform and be on stage, so I’m missing the tour [AJ Live] we did together. I can’t wait to restart that. It’s what we love to do – perform and entertain people.

Curtis, have you put any weight over these past three months?

Curtis: I think I’m the fittest I’ve ever been, actually.