19 November 2023 , 11:16
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Amy Dowden was all smiles as she joined her Strictly Come Dancing co-stars in Blackpool just days after being dealt another crushing blow to her health.
The professional dancer, who sadly had to pull out of the BBC series after being diagnosed with breast cancer, revealed this week she has broken her foot. Agonisingly, the injury rules Amy out of her much-longed for Strictly comeback as she had been hoping to return for a special performance after completing chemotherapy treatment.
Despite her latest setback, Amy joined her co-stars and the celebrities in Blackpool this weekend for the annual Strictly special at the Tower Ballroom. Amy got into the spirit of the occasion by giving her moonboot a glittery makeover.
The 33-year-old from Caerphilly was seen walking with the help of crutches before taking to a wheelchair later in the night as she joined the celebs at the afterparty.
Earlier this week, Amy shocked fans by posting to Instagram a picture of her sporting a large plastic boot. In the caption she penned: "2023 is certainly not my year. Roll on 2024 I say!"
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Amy Dowden arrives at the Strictly Come Dancing Afterparty in Blackpool on crutches after breaking her foot (SplashNews.com)
The star added some glitter to her plastic walking aid (SplashNews.com)"Not the week I was hoping for since finishing chemo," said Amy after she "unfortunately gained a boot for a fractured foot".
"Absolutely gutted and heartbroken, as this means the plans for me to dance in the Strictly ballroom this year are no longer possible. This is what has kept me going the past few months."
Amy revealed to the Mirror this year that she had discovered a lump in her breast in April, a day before she was due to fly on her honeymoon to the Maldives with her husband Ben.
After going public with her diagnosis, Amy has been busy spreading awareness of the symptoms of breast cancer after being inspired to check herself ahead of a charity trek with the breast cancer charity Coppafeel!
Layton Williams and Nikita Kuzmin won huge praise for their Couple's Choice routine at Blackpool (BBC)Amy said: "'I was in the shower and I felt this hard lump in my right breast. I was in shock; I checked again. I thought: "Right, it could just be period-related", or so many things. I decided I was going to keep an eye on it for a few weeks. On holiday, putting body lotion on every day, I was noticing it."
Amy, who has lived with Crohn's Disease since she was a child, said she then became concerned that worrying about the lump could spark a flare up of the autoimmune system while she was abroad. The dancer decided to wait until she got home to speak to her GP, as the lump increased in size.
"Everything happened so fast within that day. I went on my own and didn't tell anybody, but when I was there, the nurse said to me: "You need to have somebody here" and that's when Ben found out. They told me it was looking very suspicious and to prepare for the worst, hope for the best. They did the biopsy and then we had a wait." The results came in last week, and confirmed that Amy has grade 3 breast cancer.
Amy has since undergone rounds of chemotherapy treatment, revealing this week she had been able to 'ring the bell' to announce that her therapy had ended.
The Strictly Come Dancing results show airs on BBC One Sunday at 7.20pm.