Amy Dowden has confessed that she felt "deluded" as she braced herself for recovery from her cancer treatment. The Strictly Come Dancing professional was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2021.
This meant that Amy, aged 35, had to sit out the 21st series of the show while undergoing chemotherapy. Following her diagnosis, Amy's focus was on recuperating enough to return to the dance floor.
However, she now concedes that she may have underestimated the time required for recovery post-treatment. The star, hailing from Caerphilly, admits she felt like her world was "crashing in" when she resumed dancing.
Earlier this year, during an appearance on the Field Doctor podcast, Amy shared: "I was a bit deluded in that you go through the surgery and the treatment and then there's the road to recovery. I was a bit deluded in how long that would take.
"I just so desperately wanted my life back, I just so desperately wanted to be back on the dance floor and I thought, when I got back on the dance floor that everything would be fixed", reports Wales Online.
She continued: "I don't think I ever processed anything and I got back on the dance floor and realised nothing really was fixed. Everything came crashing down for me and I had to process everything.
"I think I would go back and tell myself not to compare myself to others. Everyone is on a different cancer journey and everyone's cancer is so different."
Following her initial cancer diagnosis, Amy had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy treatment. She disclosed in December that she had undergone a second mastectomy, though clarified this wasn't due to a fresh cancer diagnosis.
Amy has since shared that she was "put into menopause because of my hormone-fed cancer". During her appearance on Channel 4's Stand Up To Cancer last month, she revealed: "I don't know if I'll have the honour of being able to become a mum, which I desperately want to be able to."
She also looked back on her previous Strictly appearance in 2023, when she shaved off her hair during treatment. Amy reflected: "I didn't even recognise myself, actually, but I'm so proud of how far I've come.
"At the time I was going through the hardest journey of my life. A cancer diagnosis, it changes you forever."
Amy made her comeback to Strictly in 2024 but was forced to pull out of the competition due to her second mastectomy. In the previous series, she was partnered with former The Apprentice contestant Tom Skinner, though they were voted off in week two.
Amy is set to return to television screens at 6pm on BBC Two this evening (January 6) for Richard Osman's House of Games. She'll be taking on Huge Davies, Humphrey Ker and Jamie-Lee O'Donnell in the quiz show.