BBC Strictly Come Dancing Amy Dowden's heartbreaking cancer remark in backstage moment

A heartbreaking comment made by Amy Dowden backstage on BBC's Strictly Come Dancing has been shared by Sam Quek. The hockey sensation shared an emotional message on Instagram after being the latest celeb to be elimiated from the popular dance show, with professional partner Nikita Kuzmin,

In the post, she expressed gratitude to the Strictly family and candidly discussed the physical and mental challenges she faced during her stint on the BBC show.

Sam also shared a touching comment made off-camera by Welsh professional dancer Amy Dowden, 34, which helped her gain a new perspective. The remark was made after Amy and JLS star JB Gill unexpectedly found themselves in the dance-off two weeks prior.

Sam recalled: "When JB and Amy found themselves in the bottom two, the entire audience were in a state of shock. As the two of them took to the floor to do their dance-off, they weren't greeted with the usual warm applause and support from the crowd, such was the tension, surprise and awkwardness in the studio.

"Amy turned around to the audience and said, 'Come on folks... it's just a dance-off... it's not a year of chemotherapy!' A sobering reminder that there are bigger and more important things going on around the world than Strictly Come Dancing... amongst the glitz, glamour, twirls and lifts you can sometimes forget that."

Amy was absent from last year's series of the BBC One show after being diagnosed with grade three breast cancer in May 2023. The dancer shared her journey, from just six days post-diagnosis to going through treatment, in a documentary titled Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, which aired in August.

In the documentary, Amy expressed how significant the show was to her and used dancing as a goal to strive towards.

Announcing her return for the 20th anniversary series of Strictly, she exclaimed: "MY HEART IS SO HAPPY. The best team on and off the dance floor. I can't wait to be back doing what I love most in the world, dancing!"

This year, Amy has been partnered with JB Gill on the series, but was unable to perform on Saturday night's show (November 2) due to falling ill at the Strictly studios on October 26. An ambulance was called as a "precaution".

She observed from the sidelines as JB performed a couple's choice to a medley of Bruno Mars songs with Lauren Oakley.

Amy was left in tears as she watched JB and Lauren receive their series-high score of 39, with the dancer admitting: "I wish I was down there with you."

The JLS singer, 37, received his highest score in the series despite only working with Lauren for a matter of days.