Amy Dowden praises Tom and Giovanna Fletcher for support during cancer treatment

Pair emarked on eight-hour round trip to visit ‘Strictly’ star after she revealed diagnosis

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed Tom and Giovanna Fletcher took an eight-hour round trip to visit her after she told them about her cancer diagnosis.

The Welsh professional dancer, who was paired with the McFly star on the BBC dance competition in 2021, announced she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer last May after finding a lump in her breast the day before her Maldives honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.

“I can remember ringing Tom and telling him, and Tom and G got straight in the car to do an eight hour round trip to come and see me,” Dowden told Kate Thornton on her White Wine Question Time podcast.

“Giovanna had finished a trek then did a three hour drive home. They got in the car, they drove to Wales where my parents live.

“They spent a couple of hours with me and then they drove back, bless them. All because they wanted to be with me in person.”

Last month, Caerphilly-born Dowden revealed her latest health check showed “no evidence of disease” and she has now set her sights on getting back to the dancefloor.

She said she will not receive the “all clear” for five years due to her type of cancer, and that during that time she will continue to receive monthly injections and regular check-ups.

Dowden was too ill to compete in the most recent series of the BBC competition, but after her latest health check revealed “no evidence of disease”, she has now set her sights on getting back to the dancefloor.

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden (PA)

Appearing on BBC Breakfast on 1 March, Dowden said: “This is the longest I’ve never danced for since May so I need to get my body back into it. And obviously, my body’s been through so much with chemo so it’s building up gradually.

“But I have missed it so much. I used to go and support them and it was bittersweet.

“I was supporting my best friends but I didn’t want anything more than to be on that dancefloor. It was so cruel.

“So that’s the aim, is that they’ll have me back on that dancefloor with my best friends doing what I love most later this year.”

Dowden features on The Independent Women Influence List for 2024, which was released on International Women’s Day.

The dancer appears on a list of the 50 most influential women of the moment, who come from a variety of worlds spanning the arts, politics, business, sports, television, media, and activism.

You can read The Independent Women Influence List for 2024, here.

With additional reporting from agencies.