Amy Dowden has revealed she believes she returned to Strictly Come Dancing too soon after her cancer treatment. The 35-year-old dancer was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May 2023 and underwent chemotherapy, hormone therapy and a mastectomy.
She returned to the show in 2025 partnered with Apprentice contestant Thomas Skinner, but they were the first couple eliminated. The following month, she had a second preventative mastectomy in November 2025.
Speaking to the i, Dowden said: 'I went back too soon. But it’s so hard. You just want your life back.' She added that recovery from chemotherapy takes a long time, making it difficult to know when one is truly 'back'.
In a previous interview with the BBC, she admitted she is no longer the person she was before her diagnosis. 'I never thought I was going to get back on the dancefloor. I just longed for that old Amy back and I know I'm never, ever going to get her back,' she said.
Dowden, from Caerphilly, Wales, also spoke about her hopes of becoming a mother. She married fellow dancer Ben Jones in 2022 but was forced into early menopause due to treatment. The couple have frozen five embryos. She told the Mirror: 'Will I become a mother? I’ve wanted to be a mummy since I was a little girl... we will cross that bridge when it comes to it.'
