Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden has shared her excitement for tonight's first live performance since her return, describing it as "beautiful for my family". The 34 year old professional dancer expressed to the PA news agency how her celebrity partner, JLS star JB Gill, has made this 20th anniversary series of the BBC dance show the "perfect comeback" following her battle with breast cancer. Dowden, who discovered a lump just before her honeymoon in May 2023 and subsequently missed out on the last series of Strictly, announced her return to the show in February after a mastectomy and chemotherapy led to her being declared with "no evidence of disease".
She spoke warmly about her return, saying: "I'm absolutely loving it, JB's been the perfect comeback for me. I'm just back in my happy place doing what I love most." Reflecting on the significance of the performance, she added: "I think it's going to be just really lovely (today), because it's going to be beautiful for my family, because they struggled just as much as I did having to watch me go through it.
" "Last year's Strictly was a tough watch for them, because it was a reminder of exactly what we were going through. It's going to be one big celebration, this whole series for me." Dowden is set to perform the waltz to Leo Sayer's "When I Need You" with Gill, who mentioned to PA that their chemistry is "very strong".
The 37 year old remarked: "For me, I think it's just trusting Amy, she's the pro for a reason, I trust her .