Amy Dowden has hit back at Brendan Cole for "desperately craving attention" following his comments about her dancing and teaching ability on Strictly Come Dancing. Speaking on the red carpet at the Pride of Britain Awards on Monday, she said reading the headlines had been "quite upsetting".
Brendan's comments spark outrage
Ex-Strictly pro dancer Brendan, 50, said that Amy was "not up to the challenge" in an interview earlier this month, adding: "I don't think Amy's been doing a very good job for the last few years and she's been out first for the last few years. One can do the maths on that."
His comments sparked widespread outrage after Amy was diagnosed with stage-three breast cancer in 2023. She announced in February 2024 that she was cancer-free after intensive treatment and subsequently returned to Strictly as a professional dancer.
Elimination and response
Brendan's comments came after Amy and her partner Chris Appleton became the first couple to be eliminated from the competition. It was the second time in two years that Amy was eliminated first with her celebrity partner following her early exit in 2025 with Apprentice star Thomas Skinner.
Telling the Daily Mail about Brendan's remarks, she said: "Rather than him worry about what the headlines were saying about himself it would've been nice for him to call. He's got my number. Some of those headlines were quite upsetting, he said I've not done a good job since my cancer."
Amy added that the "decent thing" would have been to get in touch. Asked whether she had heard anything from him, she said she hadn't, saying: "I don't expect anything else."
Support from fans and pros
After Brendan's comments, Amy posted a video on her socials that was praised as "perfect" by fans. Miming the opening line from Mariah Carey's track Obsessed, Amy blew a kiss at the camera and mouthed, "Why are you so obsessed with me?"
"If you know, you know," her cryptic caption read, along with the hashtag, "In a world where you can be anything, be kind." Amy's fellow Strictly pros Aljaž Škorjanec, Dianne Buswell and Kevin Clifton showed their support, while Carlos Gu replied, "Iconic as always".
Meanwhile, fellow former Strictly pro James Jordan defended Brendan's comments and told GB News: "He was really upset when all the press came out about it. We're on the bus together, and when, especially me, I see stuff (in the press), I laugh because he's a good mate and I'll send it to him and say, 'Oh look, they're bashing you again.' And he's like, 'I don't understand it.'"
Going on to dismiss that Amy couldn't be criticised, he said: "What? You're not allowed to say something like that because someone's had cancer or someone has an (ailment)? I have colitis, which is in the same family as Crohn's disease; that means no one can say anything negative about me because I've got colitis! Do you know what I mean? Do you see how silly that is?"
People go, 'What an a*****e. Why would you say that about beautiful Amy?' He really didn't mean it in a negative way, and he's actually quite upset about the whole thing.
Amy spoke to the Mirror about Brendan's comments earlier this month, saying: "I'll be honest, what do you expect from him? It's fine. I've never been brought up to be personal, and in this day and age especially I think it's so important to be kind, and to think about the next generation. I always try to use my platform in the right way. I work with various charities. But also I want to be the right kind of role model. I run a dance academy and all my little boys and girls really look up to me. That's important."
