Amy Dowden has shared an insight into her ongoing battle with cancer.
The Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer is currently receiving treatment for breast cancer, after she initially discovered a lump back in April.
Now, Amy has chosen to open up about how she has been coping so far, and how her fellow Strictly stars have been helping her through this difficult time.
For her first live TV interview since her diagnosis, the 33-year-old appeared on Strictly’s companion show It Takes Two and opened up to host Janette Manrara about her treatment progress.
"So I've got chemotherapy tomorrow, session six, so I'm over halfway, I can see the finish line,” Amy beamed.
"I'm not going to lie, it is tough, but I'm staying strong and positive and I just want to raise as much awareness as I possibly can and get everybody to check their chests,” she hoped.
The Welsh dancer then went on to detail how her Strictly co-stars have been there for her, including her best friend Dianne Buswell.
“There’s not a day that goes by where she doesn’t message me and send me videos of her and Bobby [Brazier]. Katya [Jones] and Nigel [Harman] FaceTiming me on chemo days,” she laughed, adding: “I’m just forever grateful.”
Strictly viewers were delighted last Saturday night when Amy briefly showed up to chat to presenter Claudia Winkleman. For her surprise appearance, she chose not to cover up her recently shaved head, and has since opened up about the reason behind her decision.
"Dianne was just going on all day at me saying, 'You know you look so beautiful, don’t wear your headscarf,’” Amy recalled, noting that “the Strictly family treated me no different.”
“I just felt really liberated. I didn’t tell anyone, I didn’t tell my husband, my parents because I wasn’t quite sure. I was nervous,” she admitted, adding: “I’m so glad I did it because now it doesn’t matter if I’ve got my wig or not."
