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Wales Online
Wales Online
Lifestyle
Megan Nisbet

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 gets underway as Amy Dowden says goodbye to family

The Strictly Come Dancing 2022 countdown is officially on with this year's professionals heading to London to get things started. Dancer Amy Dowden, who hails from Caerphilly, delighted fans when she announced things were kicking off ahead of the BBC One show's return.

The 31-year-old, who recently married her partner Benjamin Jones, said she was "so excited" to be heading back to Strictly for her sixth year on the famous dance floor as she said goodbye to her new husband and friends.

Amy made the announcement on Instagram and explained she was resting up before travelling down to London after becoming "a little bit poorly" with Crohn's disease, which she has suffered with since the age of 11.

Read more: Strictly's Amy Dowden gushes over 'stunning' Welsh wedding as she marries fiancé Ben Jones

"Sorry I've been a bit quiet," Amy told her 300k followers. She added: "Unfortunately I've become a little bit poorly with my Crohn's disease, nothing too serious, just a little bit sick and a bit of pain.

"So I've been resting up because this afternoon I have a real honour, I've been nominated to run with the baton for the Commonwealth Games. So I'm doing that this afternoon and then I'm travelling to London because we start Strictly tomorrow, I'm so excited. So I had to rest up to make sure I got better."

Sharing a snap, Amy wrote: "And now goodbyes as I'm off to London to start @bbstrictly." She later shared a selfie and captioned it: "Year 6 off we go eeeekkkkk @bbcstrictly."

Strictly Come Dancing 2022 starts as Amy Dowden says goodbye to family (Amy Dowden/Instagram)

While the celebrity line-up for this year's Strictly Come Dancing is yet to be confirmed, the full list of professional dancers taking part in autumn has been announced. There are four new world-class dancers joining the line-up in 2022, including European cup winner Vito Coppola, Chinese National Champion Carlos Gu, former Under 21 British National Champion Lauren Oakley and Latin dance champion Michelle Tsiakkas.

In 2021, Amy was paired with McFly singer Tom Fletcher. The pair were the eighth couple to be eliminated from the competition. You can read more on this here. For more showbiz and television stories get our newsletter here.

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