Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has spoken candidly about being forced to exit the show, sharing her fears she might have “let down” her celebrity partner, JB Gill.
Amy had to withdraw from this series of Strictly due to an insufficiency stress fracture on her foot. Her partner JB will continue his journey on the competition with dancer Lauren Oakley.
Appearing on Lorraine today (November 7), Amy said she is “gutted” to leave and reflected on her one-year anniversary since she completed chemotherapy for her breast cancer diagnosis.
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“I’m heartbroken,” she told host Lorraine Kelly. “I’m gonna do my best not to cry,”
“I know lots of people will say, ‘It’s just an entertainment show,’ and I know, we were prepared every week we could be in that dance off, but I’m gutted that it’s ended this way. I feel I’ve let JB down.”
Amy also shared her original plans to celebrate one year since she rang the chemo bell to signal the end of treatment.
“I just had [planned] this samba, the joyful, carnival, happy dance,” she said. “I know as well, the way I planned the whole series, JB has got the most phenomenal dances because he has this natural body rhythm and I just knew it was going to be fantastic.”
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“Saturday is going to be tough because I really wanted to be on the actual floor to show myself how far I’ve come in that year.”
Previously speaking on It Takes Two, the pro dancer has shared her hopes to return to the dance floor before this season of Strictly wraps.
“Hopefully, I will be back dancing in some capacity, maybe in a group number, by the end of the series,” she said.
Strictly Come Dancing airs on Saturdays on BBC One, while spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two airs on weeknights on BBC Two. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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Reporter, Digital Spy
Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).