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Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has said that she returned to the BBC series ‘too soon’ as she made a ‘heartbreaking’ admission. The p rofessional dancer underwent treatment for breast cancer and shared her diagnosis publicly after being given the news in May 2023. After finding a lump the day before her honeymoon with fellow dancer Ben Jones, Amy had to undergo a single mastectomy before having chemotherapy treatment. In February 2024, the 35-year-old announced she had ‘no evidence of disease’ following tests and later made her return to the hit BBC dance show for its 20th-anniversary series last year. Sadly, Amy was forced to pull out of the series, where she was paired with JLS’ JB Gill, due to picking up a foot injury. Amy was seen back on the dancefloor for Strictly ’s 23rd season last month as she was paired with former Apprentice star Thomas Skinner. Sadly for the duo, they were the first duo to be eliminated after landing in the dance-off with Chris Robshaw and Nadiya Bychkova. Appearing on The Dr Hilary Show podcast this week, Amy spoke to ITV ’s Dr Hilary Jones about her initial return to Strictly last year. "I probably rushed too soon to get back on the dance floor. My body hadn't fully recovered and healed. I thought it had, because every day when you're recovering from chemo, you feel stronger and better. "And I guess I didn't realise the full impact chemo has on your bones. I broke my foot three days after finishing chemotherapy. And then when I went back onto Strictly last year, I had a hairline fracture,” she said. Amy added: “I was just genuinely very unwell. And I just think with the hairline fracture during the show and the white mass on my bone and just feeling so unwell, I think it was my body screaming, 'This is too much.'" With Lauren Oakley , who danced with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink this year, filling in for Amy at the time, she said it was ‘heartbreaking’ to be ‘pulled out of the competition’. "Lovely Lauren filled in and JB went on to make the finals. I was so proud. But it was also heartbreaking thinking that could have been me. "But, I guess I learnt the hard way there ... not to push myself, to pat myself on the back with all the little wins in recovery,” she said. Looking back to when she discovered a lump on her breast the day before her honeymoon, Amy admitted she ‘knew immediately’ and her ‘heart sank’. Saying she had an ‘awful gut feeling’, Amy said she initially blamed her symptoms on Crohn's Disease, but became more worried when she thought the lump was growing every time she applied sun lotion to the area. She recalled: “I was just generally not like the healthiest. Obviously, this was all signs of the cancer. And now looking back, I had this terrible cough that I couldn't shift, and I tried antibiotics, steroids, everything." Addressing her health now, Amy stated : “"Touch wood, no evidence of disease. I've had some scares with specks on the other breast, which has not been pleasant. I've had more biopsies done on that breast… “There is breast cancer in the family, so big decisions need to be made now and in the future. I'm in very, very good hands."
