Amy Dowden's heart-rending reason for rushing back to Strictly Come Dancing after cancer

Professional dancer Amy Dowden was determined to return to the Strictly dance floor for 2024 following her breast cancer ordeal, but just weeks after her comeback, the Welsh star was rushed to hospital during the live broadcast on Saturday.

Following the incident, Amy’s spokesperson has informed the BBC that the 34-year-old went to hospital “as a precaution” and that she is now feeling “much better”. They added that Amy wanted to “thank the Strictly family for their love and concern” after thousands of fans and stars sent her their best wishes.

Amy, 34, who is appearing in the 22^nd series of Strictly Come Dancing with singer JB Gill, missed the 21^st series because she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Earlier this year, she spoke to Dr Liz O’Riordan on her podcast ‘So Now I’ve Got Breast Cancer’ about why she rushed back to the series so quickly after her cancer treatment.

Amy poignantly explained on the podcast: “Hopefully it will inspire anyone else going through any treatment or anything like this – it doesn’t have to be cancer – that if Amy can do it and get back on the dance floor then you can get back there too.”

Whilst Amy confirmed she would return to Strictly Come Dancing in March, there was a moment when she thought it might not happen. Earlier this year, Amy told the Mirror that during her battle with breast cancer, she became so ill that she ended up in intensive care.

Speaking about her time in the ICU, she said: “I had severely low blood pressure, a low heart rate, I wasn’t passing urine for 14 hours, my infection markers were at dangerous levels.

“I had three different types of antibiotics and I finally responded to the third type. We met the paramedics a week later and they said if I had gone to bed that night I might not have woken up the next morning.”

Amy made it through the treatment to return to Strictly with JB, 37, as her dance partner for the series. Following Amy’s hospitalisation, the former JLS singer joined her spokesperson in thanking supporters for their outpouring of love towards Amy.

Writing on Instagram, he said: “On behalf of both @amy_dowden and I, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for voting for us and wishing us well.

“We absolutely loved our performance on Saturday night and are so grateful to be through to another week on @bbcstrictly Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support."