Strictly star Amy Dowden's heartbreaking wish for husband as big plans are sadly halted

Amy Dowden, 34, has had a tough time on Strictly Come Dancing this year, permanently withdrawing from the contest this week. It follows a year of serious health battles for the professional dancer

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden is devastated to be quitting this year's contest due to a foot injury.

The Welsh professional dancer, who had been wowing the judges with celebrity partner JB Gill, said: "I'm so sad, so upset and asking why me, why now that our journey has been cut short." This is just the latest setback for the talented 34-year-old, who was diagnosed with aggressive grade 3 breast cancer in May last year.

Amy is married to dancer Ben Jones and before her shock diagnosis, the couple had been planning to extend their home before starting a family as they both long to be parents. However Amy and Ben's dreams of parenthood were put on hold to concentrate on her health.

The couple had met in their early 20s with the dancer saying she "definitely" wanted to become a mum. "We run a dance school with lots of little girls and boys, the star told the Mirror. "I'm a dancing mum already."

Amy underwent a single mastectomy following diagnosis and told the BBC in her documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me her chemotherapy treatment put her into the menopause, which could impact her chances of becoming a mum. "I had a hormone-fed cancer, so they needed to put me into menopause because my hormones were feeding the cancer," she explained.

"My whole body was feeding cancer. But also because I was having chemotherapy and as amazing as chemotherapy is, it destroys a lot of cells in your body. Your eggs, your ovaries, everything can be damaged and not necessarily reboot again."

The star said doctors had vowed they would try their best when it came to her and Ben's wish to be parents, saying: "They have promised me. There are no guarantees but they will give it their best shot."

In February this year, Amy told her Instagram followers "no evidence of disease" had been found in her latest check-up. "I won't be getting the all-clear for five years - especially with a hormone-fed cancer - but it was all worth it," she said.

She was thrilled to return to Strictly Come Dancing but after weeks vowing fans and judges alike, she collapsed following the main show last week. "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution," a spokesman said.

Now, a foot injury has shattered the dancer's dream of winning the Glitterball Trophy in this year's contest, with Lauren Oakley stepping up to partner JB. And when it comes to becoming a mum, it's a wait-and-see.

For now, conceiving would be too much of a risk to her health. "Since we got married, the question we're asked the most is 'When are you going to have kids?' and my body can't go through that right now," she said. "You produce so many hormones when you're pregnant, I'd be at such a high risk of my cancer returning."

"Of course, we want children, but we still don't know," Amy added. "There are so many options, which we're grateful for. With fertility and the pressure in general, you don't know what someone is going through. People should bear that in mind. We need to educate."