Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Strictly: Amy Dowden’s one-liner that made stars realise there are ‘more important things’ than BBC show

Dancing pro’s words put things into perspective for celebrity contestants

Jacob Stolworthy
Tuesday 05 November 2024 06:21 EST
Comments
Amy Dowden breaks down as JB Gill scores first 10 with replacement partner

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

The latest star to be eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing has revealed an off-camera Amy Dowden moment that made her realise there are “more important things” than the BBC show.

Hockey player Sam Quek has been open about feeling “gutted” over her surprise exit from the series, which many viewers believe to be premature.

However, Quek has credited Dowden, 34, with putting the stress of the show into perspective for her and her fellow celebrity contestants with a “sobering” one-liner.

Professional dancer Dowden, who is “heartbroken” after being forced to pull out of the dancing competition for the rest of the year, underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment after being diagnosed with cancer in May 2023. In February 2024, she was told she had “no evidence of disease”

In a Facebook post shared online after the results show on Sunday (3 November), Quek said that the moment occurred last month, when Dowden and her celebrity partner, JLS singer JB Gill, unexpectedly found themselves in the dreaded dance off despite being one of the favourites to win the show.

“I want to share with you a little off camera moment that helped put everything into perspective for me, which happened a couple of weeks ago,” Quek wrote.

“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.

Quek revealed that Dowden “turned around to the audience and said, ‘Come on folks... it’s just a dance off... it’s not a year of chemotherapy!’

She called it “a sobering reminder that there are bigger and more important things going on around the world then Strictly Come Dancing... amongst the glitz, glamour, twirls and lifts you can sometimes forget that.”

Amy Dowden has been forced to pull out of ‘Strictly’ 2024
Amy Dowden has been forced to pull out of ‘Strictly’ 2024 (BBC)

In response to Quek’s post, Dowden wrote: “Beautiful human and a beautiful dancer! Loved this partnership so much.”

Dowden was rushed to hospital as a “precaution” on 26 October after suffering a foot injury, and did not perform with Gill on the latest episode.

She has been replaced by Lauren Oakley and, after the pair received a near-perfect score, Dowden was left in tears of happiness.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in