Amy Dowden vows to return to Strictly after injury sees her miss major milestone

Amy Dowden was forced to withdraw from this year's Strictly Come Dancing competition after a foot injury, meaning she missed the chance to celebrate a year since triumphing over breast cancer

Strictly's Amy Dowden is gutted not to be dancing to celebrate one year since finishing chemotherapy.

The Welsh professional, 34, returned to competing in the BBC show for its 20th anniversary after missing out last year while having cancer treatment. However, she was forced to pull out this week after fracturing her foot.

Amy said of tomorrow’s show: “Saturday is going to be tough because I really wanted to be dancing on that floor, to show myself how far I’ve had come in one year.”

She told ITV’s Lorraine she had planned to dance the samba with her celebrity partner, JLS star JB Gill, as she felt it would be a “joyful carnival happy dance”. He has since been paired with Lauren Oakley.

After a couple of weeks of rest, Amy aims to return to the show in some capacity. She said: “I’m hoping to dance by the end of series and obviously next year. I’m determined. I’m used to having to pick myself back up. I’m heartbroken but I know I’ll feel better.”

Amy found a lump in her breast the day before her Maldives honeymoon with fellow dancer Ben Jones, and was unable to take part in Strictly in 2023.

After treatment for stage three breast cancer she announced in February that tests showed she had “no evidence of disease”.