An ambulance was called after Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden MBE had a ‘medical emergency’ backstage last night (26 October).
Staff at the BBC show had to make the urgent call to 999 as it is believed the professional dancer fell ill after her performance with celebrity partner JB Gill.
The 34-year-old returned to Strictly Come Dancing full-time this year after her cancer diagnosis. And earlier in the evening, she and the JLS star achieved a score of 32 with a performance to Toploader’s ‘Dancing in the Moonlight’ for Halloween week.
Reported to have fallen ill not long after, Dowden was attended by paramedics and taken away from the TV studios in an ambulance.
Amy Dowden is partnered with JB Gill for this year’s series (Samir Hussein/WireImage)
A representative for Dowden stated: “Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern. We request Amy’s privacy in matters of health is kindly respected.”
And East of England Ambulance Service confirmed in a statement: “We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.
“An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and one patient, an adult female, was taken to Barnet Hospital for further care.”
Dowden had been excited to return to the popular dancing show this year, as she told Prima Magazine in August: “Strictly has changed everything, from the opportunities it’s given me – I’ve got to do tours, travel the world, buy a house, open a dance studio – to the people it’s brought into my life…
Dowden and Gill during last night’s show (Instagram/@amy_dowden)
“I’ve been in life-or-death situations, so dancing a one-minute-30-second routine for entertainment isn’t quite the same as walking into chemotherapy.”
Dowden was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May 2023 after finding a lump in her breast the night before her honeymoon. The dancer went on to undergo a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment.
And earlier this year, she announced doctors had found ‘no evidence’ of cancer in her body – something she went on to call her ‘biggest accomplishment yet’.
“I won’t be getting the all clear for 5 years especially with a hormone fed cancer,” she wrote on Instagram.
“But it was all worth it. Words I never thought I’d hear at one point.”
LADbible has contacted the BBC for comment.
Featured Image Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage/Karwai Tang/WireImage
