Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has opened up about a devastating family discovery made while filming the BBC genealogy show Who Do You Think You Are?. The 35-year-old dancer, who is currently in remission from stage three breast cancer, learned that her great-grandmother also had breast cancer in her thirties and died from the disease.
Reflecting on the emotional revelation, Dowden told The Telegraph: 'As soon as I saw it was carcinoma, my heart ached for her.' She described the discovery as 'heartbreaking' and said she became visibly upset while reading about her relative's experience.
Dowden, who underwent chemotherapy and a mastectomy in 2023, also credited Strictly Come Dancing bosses and her 2021 dance partner Tom Fletcher for saving her life. She said she did not regularly check for breast lumps until Fletcher's wife, Giovanna, encouraged her to do so as part of her work with the charity CoppaFeel!.
'I would not be here right now if Strictly bosses had not paired me with Tom,' Dowden said. She now campaigns to raise awareness of breast cancer and Crohn's Disease, which she was diagnosed with at age 11.
Dowden urged others to check themselves regularly, saying: 'I get messages every day, people saying they’ve seen a GP because of me or that they’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer, but it’s early stages, because they started checking themselves.'
Amy Dowden's episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs on BBC One at 9pm tonight.
