SHOWING BALD IS BEAUTIFUL
IS FEELING STRONG AND POSITIVE AS SHE JOINS HER ‘STRICTLY’ CO-STARS
Amy Dowden has always found happiness in the company of her Strictly Come Dancing co-stars. And it was their “love and support” that gave the professional dancer, who is undergoing chemotherapy for breast cancer, the courage to step out without a wig in public. “There are no words to describe the pure joy I felt being back with my [Strictly] family,” she said in an Instagram post after making a surprise appearance on the BBC show, where she joined host Claudia Winkleman, her fellow professionals and their celebrity partners in the Movie Night episode. “It is their love and support that gave me the courage to decide last minute to brave the bald,” continued the Caerphillyborn 33-year-old star, adding that the fact it was October – breast cancer awareness month in the UK – “gave me that extra push to do it”.
Speaking to Janette Manrara on Strictly spin-off show It Takes Two, Amy said: “My wig wasn’t ready for the dress run, so Dianne [Buswell] was going on at me all day, saying: ‘You look so beautiful without it.’
“I went out and did the dress [rehearsal] and the Strictly family treated me no differently without.”
Amy’s co-stars were also by her side when she put her best foot forward to attend the Pride of Britain Awards, which celebrate the nation’s unsung heroes, the following day.
STRONG SUPPORT
Flanked by friends Dianne and Janette, who joined Amy in showing support for the awareness campaign by donning pink ribbon badges, the dancer was a vision in a bubblegum pink dress with an oversized bow at London’s Grosvenor House hotel.
Amy later posted on Instagram: “It was a privilege to stand along side my Strictly Come Dancing family and present an award… It was a humbling experience and one that I was truly grateful to be a part of.”
The star – who has had a decadeslong struggle with Crohn’s disease – shared her diagnosis of grade 3 breast cancer with hello! in May. Giving an update last week, she said: “I’m not going to lie; it is tough, but I am feeling strong and positive.”
That positivity is being reinforced by her friends. “There’s
