BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden 'falls ill' as tearful star leaves stage

Amy Dowden has made a triumphant return to the dance floor for the first time since her cancer diagnosis, delivering an emotional and powerful performance that left the star in tears. However, the strenuous routine took its toll on the recovering dancer, leaving her feeling unwell momentarily.

Following a busy day of activities at a Strictly Come Dancing fan event, and after a week which saw Amy trek through the Brecon Beacons for charity, the professional dancer graced the stage for her first public show in over a year.

In a compelling 45-minute routine with husband Ben Jones, Caerphilly-born Amy performed a samba, a jive and a cha cha, as well as a touching piece that Ben revealed was a favourite from their competition days before Amy's rise to fame on Strictly. The pair originally met as competitive dancers and went on to become British National Latin Dance Champions.

This weekend marked Amy's reunion with members of the Strictly family in a performance dance setting for the first time. The event, held at the Warner Hotel at Cricket St Thomas, Somerset, also featured performances from Strictly professional dancers Katya Jones, Neil Jones, Karen Hauer, Nancy Xu and Carlos Gu, reports Wales Online.

However, it was Amy's victorious comeback to the dancefloor, filmed as part of a BBC documentary about her cancer journey, that was selected as the grand finale for the weekend. Amy has bravely battled back from a cancer diagnosis that required her to undergo surgery and chemotherapy.

Amy, who was greeted with loud cheers from enthusiastic Strictly fans throughout her performance, shared how meaningful it was to be back dancing in front of a live audience. Overwhelmed at the crowd's reception, she said: "Thank you from the bottom of my heart".

Her husband Ben commended Amy on her strength and determination, referring to her as "a warrior". Amy received a breast cancer diagnosis in May 2023 after discovering a lump right before her honeymoon.

She has recently finished treatment for stage three cancer.

The returning star took the dance floor by storm on Sunday night with a sensational cha-cha. However, a challenging lift during the Samba proved too strenuous, causing Amy to fall ill and needed to step off the dance floor briefly.

Despite not feeling well, Amy continued to dance which even Ben had failed to notice.

Returning tearfully moments later, she explained her sudden illness. Amy admitted pre-show nerves, attributing them to "butterflies", and also confessed to tiredness and muscle soreness due to her participation in an extensive Coppafeel charity walk across the Brecon Beacons this week.

She expressed disappointment at the samba performance, stating it had "not gone how she wanted", but the supportive crowd drowned out her explanation with further applause. Undeterred by being unwell, Amy persisted with her performance and was once again greeted by applause.

She and Ben rounded off their dance sequence with a Dirty Dancing-inspired jive, sadly resulting in Amy feeling unwell once more.

She graced the stage once more, earning two standing ovations from the audience. A spectator shared: "It was inspirational to see Amy return to the dance floor and perform such powerful and emotional dances. Even when she fell ill Amy remained professional to the point where no one would have been aware what was going on if she hadn't been - as she has through her journey - so open and honest."

They continued: "The crowd showered Amy with love and appreciation, thrilled to see her back in action. It was evidently an emotional performance for Amy. She clearly put in a lot of effort this weekend and I hope she is feeling much better.

"I also hope she knows the whole crowd were blown away by her return performance and could not have asked for anything more."

The weekend also saw Amy participating in a Q&A panel alongside Ben and celebrity dancer Kevin Fletcher. She taught hundreds of Strictly fans the cha cha in an hour-long lesson and spent time taking photos with fans.