Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden forced to halt dance return mid-performance due to illness

Amy Dowden has returned to the dancefloor for the first time since her cancer diagnosis in an emotional and powerful performance that left the star tearful, but also put a physical strain on the recovering star, leaving her unwell for a few moments.

After a full day of activities during a weekend for Strictly fans, and after a week that saw Amy walk through the Brecon Beacons for charity, the professional dancer took to the stage for her first public show in more than a year.

During a powerful 45-minute routine with husband Ben Jones, Amy, from Caerphilly, performed a samba, a jive and a cha cha as well as a poignant piece that Ben explained was a favourite from their competition days before Amy found fame on Strictly. The couple met as competition dancers and became British National Latin Dance Champions.

Amy had been reunited with members of the Strictly family for the first time in a performance dance setting this weekend. The weekend at the Warner Hotel at Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, had also seen performances from Strictly professional dancers Katya, Neil, Karen, Nancy and Carlos.

But it was Amy's triumphant return to the dancefloor, being filmed as part of a BBC documentary about Amy's cancer journey, that was chosen as the finale for the weekend. Amy has fought back from a cancer diagnosis that saw her undergo surgery and chemotherapy.

Emotional Amy, who was greeted by raucous applause from hundreds of Strictly fans numerous times during her performance, said what it meant to be dancing in front of people 'up close and personal' for the first time since she fell ill 'has just been unexplainable'. After the crowd's welcome, Amy said: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart".

Husband Ben praised Amy's strength and resilience, calling her 'a warrior'. Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023 after finding a lump just before her honeymoon. She has just completed therapy for stage three cancer.

Amy held nothing back as she returned to the dancefloor on Sunday night with an explosive cha cha. But it was a lift during the Samba that proved slightly too much for Amy, leaving her unwell and having to exit the dancefloor. Amy had continued to dance through her discomfort and even Ben had not noticed she was unwell.

She returned, tearful, a few moments later explaining that she had fallen ill. Amy said she had been very nervous with 'butterflies' before the show and explained she was also very tired and 'sore' after completing a lengthy charity walk through the Brecon Beacons for Coppafeel this week.

She said the samba had 'not gone how she wanted', but the crowd drowned out her explanation with more applause. Despite being unwell Amy continued to dance and was met with more applause. She and Ben completed their routine ending with a Dirty Dancing jive, which again saw Amy fall unwell at the end.

She returned to the stage again, and was given two standing ovations by the crowd. One audience member said: "It was inspirational to see Amy return to the dancefloor and perform such powerful and emotional dances. Even when she fell ill Amy remained professional to the point where no-one would have been aware what was going on if she hadn't been - as she has through her journey - so open and honest.

"The audience showed their love, affection and appreciation for Amy and were all overjoyed to have her back dancing. It was clearly an emotional performance for Amy. Amy clearly worked really hard this weekend and I hope she is feeling much better.

"I also hope she knows the whole crowd were blown away by her return performance and could not have asked for anything more."

The weekend had also seen Amy spend an hour answering questions on a panel alongside Ben and celebrity dancer Kevin Fletcher, and she taught hundreds of Strictly fans how to cha cha in an hour-long lesson, as well as spending an hour taking photos with fans.