Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has said she is “grateful” for being given “another shot at life” a year on from finding a cancerous lump in her breast.
The professional dancer, 33, who joined the BBC dance competition show in 2017, found the lump in April last year, the day before going to the Maldives on her honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.
After being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer Dowden had a mastectomy before undergoing chemotherapy, which she has now finished.
A year on from her discovery the Caerphilly-born dancer made a visit to Blackpool, which is where she was when she found the lump.
Speaking to Christine Lampard via video call on ITV programme Lorraine, she said: “I’m doing really well, thank you.
“Yes, I’m back in the incredible Empress Ballroom.
“A year ago I was here with my students and I found the lump and was flying off on honeymoon the next day but I can’t believe in this last year I’ve come full circle, from mastectomy to gruelling chemotherapy treatment, a few obstacles along the way.
“But it all worked and I’ve been given another shot at life and I’m so grateful for that, I really am.”
She added: “I missed being on Strictly so much last year, I’ve missed dancing.
“I’ve been working with my physio team, who are incredible, so I’ve got a new upper body, I haven’t danced in a year and that is the goal, for me to get back with my Strictly family. So fingers crossed.”
Speaking about the Empress Ballroom she said: “This ballroom, it is the home of ballroom dancing.
“When I walked in here when I was eight years old, I said, ‘Mam I want to be a professional dancer’.
“And for my husband and I. We cherish this ballroom so much because it was where we won the British National Championships together.”
Dowden, who was a finalist on Strictly in 2019 with CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual, was unable to have a celebrity partner on the BBC One show last year but made a few surprise appearances.
In February, she said on Instagram that she would “be taking the next few months to heal and recover” as she revealed that “no evidence of disease” was found during her latest health check.
The star said she will not receive the “all clear” for five years due to her type of cancer.