Strictly's Amy Dowden's four-word health update as she addresses 'bittersweet' final

Strictly Come Dancing star  Amy Dowden appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday morning alongside friend and fellow Strictly pro, Carlos Gu. The duo spoke to Sally Nugent and Jon Kay about their upcoming tour, although the conversation quickly turned to the long-running BBC show.

This year, fans saw Amy Dowden partner with JLS star JB Gill. However, she was forced to withdraw from the competition following an injury, and Lauren Oakley stepped in to be JB's new partner.

Although during the grand final on Saturday night, BBC fans were thrilled to see Amy in the group dance. Kicking off the interview, Sally said: "First of all, Amy, how are you?"

She replied: "I'm doing really well, thank you, yeah, really good. To dance in the final was just lush. Especially considering the two years that I've had, absolutely!

"Obviously, bittersweet. I would have loved to have been there dancing with JB and Lauren, but I'm so proud of them both. They achieved such incredible dances on the weekend."

Speaking about Amy having to step back from the competition because of her injury, Sally was quick to ask if she thought it was possible to recover in time for the final.

Amy replied: "That was my aim and I'm pretty determined! So yeah, that was the goal."

The Strictly pro, alongside Carlos, will be travelling across the UK next year for their tour, Reborn. The BBC host asked: "Do you feel like this (tour) is a bit like, it's turning a page?"

Amy added: "Yeah, for me, for sure. I hope to give a message as well, always stay true to yourself. But, that better times can come. For me it's been quite a challenging few years.

"I want to show the challenge through the show, there's going to be ups and downs, but I hope to give people confidence and uplift them. The truth behind the struggles but also, you can get through them and don't get bitter get better."

Amy revealed the tour, which starts in March, is also giving her something to look forward to and work towards.

During their discussion, she confessed it's only recently that she's started to get her energy back up.

She continued: "During chemo, you feel so ill, so rotten and actually, only in the last few weeks I've felt like I've really got my energy back now.

"Whereas throughout the year last year, I was constantly feeling stronger and better, only in the last few weeks have I realised, yeah, actually I feel like back to the old Amy."

"Now I can push this on stage with my best friend Carlos, who was there throughout all of my cancer diagnosis," she added.

In May 2023, Amy was diagnosed with grade three cancer and has since undergone chemotherapy and a mastectomy. In February this year, Amy announced that tests showed she had "no evidence of disease".

BBC Breakfast continues weekdays on BBC One from 6am.