Strictly Come Dancing dancer Amy Dowden marks final chemotherapy session
Amy Dowden has said she feels “lucky and grateful” to ring a bell in hospital – marking her final chemotherapy session.
The Strictly Come Dancing star was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer earlier this year.
The 33-year-old dancer from Caerphilly in south Wales has made occasional appearances throughout the current series, but was not partnered with a celebrity as she underwent treatment.
Dowden said: ‘I’m so proud of myself’
Ahead of her eighth and final session of chemotherapy, which she started in July, Dowden told her Instagram followers she had “cried all morning”.
But after the session, she said: “This day of ringing the chemo bell felt like an endless distance away and at points, I thought I’d never make it. I’m so proud of myself.”
Described as her “toughest journey yet”, Dowden said the treatment “hopefully has now given me the chance of more life” which she is “eternally grateful for”.
Alongside an emotional video on Instagram, the dancer said: “I’ll never be the same Amy again but, what I do know is I’m so much stronger than I ever knew, and I have made the most amazing friends along the way.
“I hate looking in the mirror at the moment, but I know this is a small price to pay and ‘this too shall pass’.”
Dowden initially underwent a mastectomy and daily hormone injections to retrieve her eggs. In August, she revealed she had contracted sepsis after her first round of chemotherapy.
The dancer said that she now awaits an MRI to determine if she needs more surgery.
Amy Dowden at the Pride of Britain Awards
Amy Dowden at the launch of Strictly Come Dancing 2019
In the clip, amid tears, she hugged and thanked the staff at the unit that had looked after her during treatments.
Several Strictly stars sent Dowden their well wishes, including fellow dancer Dianne Buswell who said it made her “so happy”.
Former contestant Michelle Visage wrote: “We love you, Amy.”
And Dowden, who married fellow professional dancer Ben Jones in July last year, said her dancing shoes were “warming up” and that she “can’t wait to get back in the training room”.
She joined the series in 2017 and has since partnered celebrities including actor Danny John-Jules, James Bye from EastEnders and McFly‘s Tom Fletcher.
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Chemotherapy is a treatment where cancer cells are killed using medicine.
It stops cancer cells reproducing so they don’t grow and spread in the body, according to the NHS website.
Side effects include feeling tired, sick and hair loss.
Dowden received praise from viewers for recently reading Strictly’s terms and privacy notice without a wig.
Entertainment
Gregg Wallace: Over half of allegations against MasterChef presenter substantiated, including one of unwanted physical contact
An investigation into Gregg Wallace’s “inappropriate behaviour” on MasterChef has found that more than half of the allegations against him have been substantiated, including one of “unwanted physical contact”.
MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK shared a summary of its report into historical allegations of misconduct against the 60-year-old presenter, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin over seven months.
The report also said the number of sustained allegations made Wallace’s return to MasterChef “untenable”.
The investigation heard evidence from 78 witnesses, including 41 complainants.
There were 83 allegations against Wallace, and 45 of them were substantiated. All were related to MasterChef.
While the majority of the substantiated allegations related to inappropriate sexual language and humour, a smaller number of allegations of other inappropriate language and being in a state of undress were also substantiated.
One allegation of unwanted physical contact was substantiated.
Nearly all the allegations against Wallace were related to behaviour which is said to have occurred between 2005 and 2018, with just one substantiated allegation taking place post-2018.
Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
Ahead of the publication of the summary, Wallace had said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.
Additionally, the report summary found that there were also 10 standalone allegations about other people between 2012 and 2018/2019, two of which were substantiated. Those people were not named in the summary.
The investigation found that complaints had previously been raised with the production company between 2005 and 2024.
Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
While the report flagged inadequate reporting procedures prior to 2016, when Endemol merged with Shine ahead of Banijay acquiring Endemol Shine in 2020, it said there were significant improvements to HR processes and training after 2016.
While the investigation said some formal action was taken by the BBC in 2017, it also noted the corporation held no information regarding concerns raised over Wallace centrally, resulting in issues being addressed as a first offence.
Sky News has tried to contact Gregg Wallace for contact today.
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