Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has opened up about her surprise appearance during Saturday night’s live show.
Amy is currently undergoing treatment for cancer, and as a result has been unable to compete in the current series of Strictly.
However, the 33-year-old is still very much part of the Strictly family, appearing in this year’s opening credits, hanging out with her colleagues behind the scenes and previously vowing that she’d appear during live shows in whatever capacity she felt able.
Back in June, before she began her treatment, Amy told The Mirror: “If I have to have chemotherapy, I’ll be present in some way, even if I’m in a wig. I know amazing hair people with Strictly.
“Whether it’s on It Takes Two, or being up in Claudia’s area waiting for the scores, I’ll be there.”
Saturday saw Amy making her first on-screen appearance of the current series, when she joined Claudia Winkleman and her fellow pros as the star guest to read out the terms and conditions.
Amy then remained with the cast for the rest of the episodes, both celebrating and commiserating with this year’s performers.
The following morning, the Welsh dancer shared a post on her Instagram page in which she shared that it had been a last-minute decision to appear on Strictly without her wig, having shaved her head in the midst of her treatment last month.
She wrote: “There are no words to describe the pure joy and happiness I felt last night being back with my Strictly family.
“It is their love and support that gave me the courage to decide [at the] last minute to step out and brave the bald.”
Alongside a screenshot of a comment saying she had “shown every little girl going through chemo that bald is beautiful”, Amy continued: “It’s messages like the above which is why I use my platform to raise awareness and hopefully give others confidence.
“Not saying it was easy and I still miss my long hair dearly but gosh did it feel liberating and it’s breast cancer awareness month which gave me that extra push to do it.”
Over on X (formerly known as Twitter), Amy also received a wave of support from Strictly viewers:
Amy first joined Strictly’s team of professional dancers in 2017.
Since then, she has been partnered with contestants including actor Danny John-Jules, EastEnders stars Brian Conley and James Bye, Invictus Games athlete JJ Chalmers, McFly singer Tom Fletcher and presenter Karim Zeroual, with whom she reached the Strictly final back in 2019.
Last year, she also danced with CBeebies regular George Webster on Strictly’s annual Christmas special.