Amy Dowden fought back tears as she confessed she felt she had let her celebrity partner JB Gill “down” after being forced to withdraw from the remainder of this year's Strictly Come Dancing due to injury.
The 34-year-old dancer, who has been battling Crohn's disease and is in recovery from breast cancer, revealed the heartbreaking news this week that she would be leaving the competition due to injury.
She had previously missed the results show after being rushed to the hospital, and now a stress fracture has forced her to step away from the BBC One series altogether.
During her first public appearance since the announcement, Amy broke down on It Takes Two, revealing her emotional struggle.
On Thursday, she appeared on Lorraine where she admitted feeling “heartbroken” over the situation.
Holding back tears, she shared: “I’m heartbroken, I’m going to do my best, as you know, not to cry.
“I know lots of people will say it’s just an entertainment show, and I know, we were prepared every week we could be in that dance off, but I’m gutted that it’s ended this way. I feel I’ve let JB down.”
The Welsh star also expressed her sadness over not being able to perform during Saturday's live show, which would have marked the one-year anniversary of her ringing the cancer bell to signal the end of her treatment.
“I just had [planned] this samba, the joyful, carnival, happy dance,” she said with tears in her eyes.
”I know as well, the way I planned the whole series, JB has got the most phenomenal dances because he has this natural body rhythm and I just knew it was going to be fantastic.
“Saturday is going to be tough because I really wanted to be on the actual floor to show myself how far I’ve come in that year.”
Despite her setback, she resilient spirit shone through as she explained she now needed to avoid hard impacts on her foot and leg for a few weeks.
She remains hopeful of returning later in the series, and is focused on her tour plans for the New Year.
Dowden shared: “I am feeling good, I was in the gym with the physio yesterday and I’m hoping to dance by the end of the series. Next year I’ve got my tour with Carlos, Reborn, and I’m determined.
“I’ve had a lot of setbacks in my life, unfortunately since I was 11-years-old, so I’m used to picking myself back up.
“The saying is don’t get bitter, get better. Now I’m heartbroken, but I know I’ll feel better soon.”
On Monday evening, Dowden said on Instagram that her heart was “breaking” as she revealed an injury had prevented her attempts to compete for the 2024 glitterball trophy.
She had returned the BBC show for its 20th anniversary series after missing out last year while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.
Dowden had already skipped one live show and watched Gill and pro Lauren Oakley dance to a Bruno Mars medley, earning the joint-highest score of this year’s series from Elstree Studios.
The previous weekend, she was taken to hospital as a “precaution” after “feeling unwell” following the live show and missed the Sunday results programme, her representative said at the time.
Dowden announced in 2023 that she was undergoing treatment for stage-three breast cancer including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy.
In February, she revealed that tests showed she had “no evidence of disease”.
