Amy Dowden “nearly postponed” her breast cancer treatment over Strictly Come Dancing fears – and had to fight the natural urge to “put her dancing first”.
Dragons’ Den star Sara Davies, who starred alongside professional Amy as a contestant on the BBC show in 2021, has become close pals with the star afterwards, and urged her to put her health first and undergo chemotherapy.
Speaking on The Mirror’s Invite Only, Sara explained: “I spent a lot of time with her at the start of the cancer diagnosis when she wasn’t feeling positive. She’d been dealt a bad hand and she was struggling with it.” Sara said she “needed to be the friend that was filling her tank”, but knew she couldn’t simply hug Amy and tell her it would all be okay.
READ MORE: Skint Eric Idle says Monty Python was financial ‘disaster’ and must ‘work at 80’
READ MORE: Want more showbiz? Daily Star has just the thing for you!
She explained: “I was the one who was like, ‘What’s the plan, Amy?’ and pushing her to make difficult decisions. She wasn’t sure if she was going to have chemo so we talked about that. What I’ve realised with the dancers is that from being little, they are hardwired to dance. And the biggest blow for her was: ‘If I don’t go down that route, I won’t be able to do Strictly this year.’”
(Image: BBC)
Sara said she had to “look Amy in the eye” and tell her: “Amy, you’ve got cancer. They’ve literally just cut your boob off. They are telling you you need to have this chemo to get better. Don’t worry about dance and Strictly.”
Amy responded with further worries that show execs “might not want” her to return the year after her treatment. Thankfully she had Sara in her corner, who told her she is “so well-loved”. She praised Amy for going on the show without a wig in a “phenomenal moment”, admitting she “cried” when she saw her take to the stage.
(Image: Amy Dowden/Instagram)
Amy was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer in May 2023, and underwent a mastectomy shortly afterwards. She was then told she has a different form of cancer which would need further treatment, and she recently headed back to hospital for an MRI scan.
Amy confessed she was feeling “anxious” about the appointment as she explained to her Instagram followers: “I know it’s been a while hasn’t it since I’ve spoken to you lot. I’ve got to my hospital appointment early so I thought I’d come on. You’re probably thinking, ‘That’s strange, a hospital appointment on a Sunday?’ but I’ve got an MRI scan.
(Image: Instagram)
For more of the latest showbiz news from Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
“It doesn’t matter how many times you have tests you never get used to it and I feel your anxiety only gets worse. Smile on my face but deep down just get this over with!”
In December last year, Amy had to be rushed to hospital after suffering a blood clot on her lung after finishing chemo. Now her hair is beginning to grow back, after being forced to go on blood thinning injections in case the clot moved towards her heart.
Daily Star has contacted the BBC for comment.
Follow Daily Star on Threads here.
Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
