Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has said she was “ready to hang up her dancing shoes” after being voted off the BBC show alongside her celebrity partner, hairstylist Chris Appleton. The pair became the first couple eliminated in the tense dance-off against Jaime Winstone and Carlos Gu, receiving no votes from the judges to save them.
Elimination from the competition
The 36-year-old dancer was booted off the programme on October 4 after facing Jaime and Carlos, who managed to pull through to next week after landing a middling score on the Saturday night scoreboard. Amy and Chris received no votes from the judges to save them.
Reflecting on her cancer battle
But it was in 2024 when Amy hit her “ultimate low”. She told The Mirror that after being diagnosed with breast cancer, she was ready to give up dancing for good. Amy said: "I'd been pulled out of Strictly and I was ready to hang up my dancing shoes. It was only then I really knew how low I was in my life."
Amy said it was down to her husband, Ben Jones, and her co-star Carlos Gu to help her through. She said they helped ensure that cancer did not take away her dancing as it had done “everything else”. Amy added: “Unfortunately, a cancer diagnosis is like a life sentence."
Support from Carlos and personal struggles
For Carlos, who lost his grandmother and cousin to cancer, it was difficult seeing Amy undergo treatment. He said: “You don't have enough sleep, you don't have good food, you're always constantly on the run.”
Amy previously told Express.co.uk: “I was at an all time low [after my diagnosis] I’m not going to lie. I learned so much from chemo. It’s your soul that matters and that shines through. I think it’s about remembering that. I wish I was kinder to myself throughout the whole process – I was too hard on myself.”
Losing her hair through chemotherapy also had an effect, with Amy admitting: “It was really hard [losing my hair], especially being a dancer. Hair is our identity, we have hairography. Losing my eyelashes and my eyebrows, it was a tough period, I’m not going to lie.”
