Strictly Come Dancing staff call ambulance after Amy Dowden suffers ‘medical emergency’ backstage
The professional dancer is ‘feeling much better’ now
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An ambulance was called after Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden became ill backstage.
Dowden, 34, required medical attention after falling ill just minutes after her performance with celebrity partner JB Gill during Saturday night’s (26 October) Halloween Week special.
The dancing professional was attended to by paramedics and taken away from the Elstree studios, where the BBC One show is filmed.
A representative for Dowden told The Mirror: “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.”
East of England Ambulance Service confirmed that they had been called in a statement reading: “We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.”
The statement continued: “An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and one patient, an adult female, was taken to Barnet Hospital for further care.”
The Independent has contacted a representative for BBC for comment.
The Welsh ballroom dancer, who first joined the cast of Strictly in 2017, was too ill to compete in last year’s series as she recovered from treatment for stage three breast cancer.
In May 2023, the dancer found a lump in her breast the day before her Maldives honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones. She underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment in those nine months and was eventually told she had “no evidence of disease” in February.
She rejoined the programme this year, with her fans and co-stars giving her a warm welcome back.
Dowden is currently paired with singer and presenter JB Gill. During last night’s Halloween week episode, the pair achieved a score of 32 with their performance to Toploader’s “Dancing in the Moonlight”.
The highest-scoring dance of the night was Jamie Borthwick and Michelle Tsiakkas’ Addams Family-themed American Smooth to the film’s original theme, with the pair playing siblings Pugsley and Wednesday.
Joining them at the top of the leaderboard were Sarah Hadland and Vito Coppola, who danced an Argentine Tango to “Ready Or Not” by Fugees and still managed to secure a high mark despite having a lift mishap at the beginning of their routine.
In third place was Tasha Ghouri and Aljaž Škorjanec’s Frankenstein-themed Samba to “I Like to Move It” by Reel 2 Real, which finished with a dramatic leg lift and scored 37.
You can catch up on everything you missed from Strictly last night here, and review the latest leaderboard here.
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