Strictly's Amy Dowden was worried show wouldn't want her back after chemo
Former Strictly Come Dancing star Sara Davies has revealed that Amy Dowden was worried that producers wouldn’t want her back on the show.
Dowden was largely absent from the 21st series of the BBC show due to her recovery from breast cancer, though she did make appearances throughout.
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Davies, who competed in the 19th series with Aljaž Škorjanec, has been close friends with Dowden ever since her stint on the dancefloor, and revealed some details about the early days of Amy's diagnosis on the Invite Only podcast.
“I spent a lot of time with her [Amy] at the start of the cancer diagnosis when she wasn't feeling positive,” began Davies. “She'd been dealt a bad hand and she was struggling with it... I was the one who was like, 'What's the plan, Amy?' and pushing her to make difficult decisions.
“She wasn't sure if she was going to have chemo so we talked about that... I had to look her in the eye and say: 'Amy, you've got cancer. They've literally just cut your boob off. They are telling you you need to have this chemo to get better. Don't worry about dancing on Strictly.’
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“[She said] 'But if I don't dance this year, they might not want me back next year.' And I said: 'Amy, you're amazing at what you do, of course they will want you back... You are so well-loved. Please, it's really important. Get well.’
Davies, who is on Dragons’ Den, concluded by speaking about how emotional she felt seeing Dowden return to the BBC studio without wearing her wig.
Strictly Come Dancing and spin-off Strictly: It Takes Two will return to the BBC later this year. Both shows are available to stream on BBC iPlayer.
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