Strictly’s Amy Dowden reveals new cancer scare

Amy Dowden has said her return to Strictly Come Dancing was thrown into doubt after another cancer scare.

The 34-year-old professional dancer, who was diagnosed with cancer twice last year, was rushed back to hospital for further tests after doctors became concerned about abnormalities in her chest after an examination.

She said she was “devastated” and had spent sleepless nights waiting for the news.

But after getting the all-clear from her consultant, Amy told him: “We haven’t had a lot of good news, so thank you.”

His latest health problem was caught on camera by the BBC Amy, It’s Strict: Cancer and Mewhich documented her journey from initial diagnosis to her return to Strictly this autumn.

“It was a scary, very worrying time,” Amy said.

“I will never forget when they called me to say we were sorry, but we had seen something we didn’t like.

She had just danced in front of an audience for the first time in a year when the results of her annual MRI and mammogram put her “on hold.”

Tests revealed extensive calcium deposits in one of her breasts and doctors feared it was a “precursor to invasive breast cancer”.

“We are devastated for Amy once again,” her father Richard told the documentary.

“It’s another blow,” he added. “For us, it’s been very hard. I just wish I could have everything for her.”

Amy, from Caerphilly, told the documentary the latest scare had left her “anxious” and “brought back all the memories” of what she had experienced the previous year.

“It was overwhelming, I felt terrible and I spent so many sleepless nights worrying,” she added.

But further tests proved the abnormalities were benign and she admitted she was “so relieved it was unreal”.

The green light has allowed a now-excited Amy to focus fully on her return to Strictly, the BBC’s flagship Saturday night show. making headlines for the wrong reasons in recent months.

Two professional Strictly dancers – Giovanni Pernice and Graziano Di Prima – have quit the show following allegations about their behaviour.

Pernice has denied any wrongdoing while Di Prima’s spokesperson confirmed the star kicked his celebrity partner Zara McDermott once during rehearsals last year.

But Amy, who joined Strictly in 2017, said her return to the famous dance floor was one of the biggest motivations to overcome her cancer ordeal.

“I’m a family girl, I wouldn’t have wanted to overcome my cancer to come back to Strictly if it wasn’t a show of pure love, joy and happiness,” she said.

“For me, this is my happy place. My heart is so happy to be back.”

“The support I received last year from the show was incredible, the producers called me every week to make me feel like part of the team because they knew I needed it.

“And when I was in the oncology unit last year, everyone was talking about Strictly – the nation loves it and it gives people something to look forward to. I felt so proud to be a part of that show.”

Amy has said Strictly saved her life as a breast cancer charity walk with Giovanna Fletcher, the wife of her dance partner, McFly singer Tom Fletcher, in 2021, inspired her to check her own breasts.

“Being back on the dance floor will be super magical. It’s the best show in the world and I pinch myself every day to think I’m a part of it.”