Amy Dowden ‘doing much better’ and Strictly ‘hopeful’ she will return next week

A spokesperson for the BBC dancing show said they were “hopeful” the 34-year-old Welsh dancer would return next week, with professional dancer Lauren Oakley to dance with her celebrity partner, JLS singer JB Gill, in this weekend’s live show.

They said the show’s cast and crew “send her love and wish her well” after she missed Sunday’s results programme after “feeling unwell” and was taken to Barnet Hospital from the BBC One show’s production centre, Elstree Studios, as a “precaution”.

A Strictly spokesperson said: “Amy Dowden MBE is doing much better and the Strictly family send her love and wish her well.

“She is delighted that fellow professional dancer Lauren Oakley is able to step in for rehearsals and to perform in Saturday’s show for JB Gill’s couple’s choice dance.

“We are all hopeful that Amy will be back to dance with JB next week.”

After reading the statement on Strictly sister programme It Takes Two on Monday, presenter Fleur East said: “Sending you lots of love Amy and hope to see you soon.”

Dowden’s management company said she was “resting” and would be supporting Gill and Oakley during this weekend’s show.

Cloud9 Management said in an Instagram post: “We are grateful for the well wishes to our client Amy Dowden MBE.

“After being taken ill on Saturday night, Amy was discharged from hospital the following day and is now resting.

“She is looking forward to supporting JB and Lauren, and hopes to return to the rehearsal room next week.”

On Instagram, the JLS star wrote: “On behalf of both @amy_dowden and I, I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone for voting for us and wishing us well.

“We absolutely loved our performance on Saturday night and are so grateful to be through to another week on @bbcstrictly Thank you, thank you, thank you for your support.”

This year, Dowden returned to the competition after undergoing treatment for breast cancer, including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy.

Gill stood alone on stage as the results were read out on Sunday.

He and Dowden escaped being in the bottom two after their foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.

A spokesperson for Dowden said on Sunday: “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.”

The BBC said “due to unforeseen circumstances” she was “unable” to be part of the results show, which is recorded on Saturday after the live show, and airs on Sunday.

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: “We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.

“An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care.”

Last year, Dowden found a lump in her breast while on her honeymoon in the Maldives with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.

She was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and, after treatment, in February announced that tests showed she has “no evidence of disease”.

Dowden documented her experience after seeing the impact on others of her documentary discussing her Crohn’s disease, and how it had helped her “accept” her own condition for the “first time ever”.

She fronted the BBC programme Strictly Amy: Crohn’s And Me, in which she spoke about her condition and met other people with Crohn’s to hear about their experiences.

The lifelong condition, in which parts of the digestive system become inflamed, can cause stomach aches and cramps, fatigue and diarrhoea, among other symptoms, according to the NHS website.

During the Strictly live tour in 2022, Dowden was admitted to hospital in Manchester after a Crohn’s flare-up.