Amy DowdenMBE (born 10 August 1990) is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show Strictly Come Dancing. Dowden joined the series in 2017, and in 2019, she was a finalist in the seventeenth series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Dowden and her partner Ben Jones are former British National Latin Dance Champions. She has the Guinness World Record for the most back-Charleston kick-steps in 30 seconds (2022).
Early life
Dowden was born in Caerphilly, Wales, and began dancing at the age of eight.[1] She has a twin sister[2] and an older brother.[3] Alongside her partner Ben Jones, she became British Open Latin Dance Champion in 2017, and the couple were the first all-British pair to win the championships in over 30 years. Other successes include becoming British Dance Federation Champions, English Closed Champions and Welsh Closed and Open Champions.[4] Dowden is also a four-time British National Finalist, and a World Championship semi-finalist, and she remains one of the highest-ranking Ballroom and Latin American professional dancers in the UK.[5]
^Dowden was forced to withdraw from the twenty-second series after week six due to sustaining a foot injury, with Lauren Oakley subsequently replacing her as Gill's partner.
In 2017, Dowden appeared as a professional dancer in the fifteenth series, partnered with comedian Brian Conley. They made it to week 5 of the competition.[7]
Red number indicates Brian & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard
Performances with Danny John-Jules
Dowden returned for her second series in 2018 where she was partnered with Danny John-Jules. The couple were awarded the first 10 score of the series by Darcey Bussell for their Jive to "Flip, Flop and Fly" in week 5. They were eliminated in week 8 after losing a dance-off to Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse; their elimination came days after controversial bullying allegations, with tabloids reporting that John-Jules had reduced Dowden to tears.[8]
Green number indicates Danny & Amy were at the top of the leaderboard
Red number indicates Danny & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard
Performances with Karim Zeroual
In 2019, Dowden appeared as a professional dancer in the seventeenth series of the show, partnered with CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual. The pair received the first perfect 40 of the series for their Jive in week 11.
Green number indicates Karim & Amy were at the top of the leaderboard
Performances with JJ Chalmers
In the eighteenth series, Dowden partnered with television presenter JJ Chalmers. They finished in 6th place, reaching musical week. The scores for this series were out of 30.
In the nineteenth series, Dowden partnered with musician Tom Fletcher. On 26 September 2021, it was announced that both had contracted COVID-19 and would miss the following week's show.[9] On 21 November 2021, in week 9 of the competition, they were the eighth couple to be eliminated, after a dance-off against Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu.[10]
Red number indicates James & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard
Performances with JB Gill
In the twenty-second series, Dowden partnered JLS singer JB Gill. In Halloween week, Dowden didn't appear in the results show due to her collapsing backstage following the main show, so JB appeared alone. She was transported to Barnet Hospital as a precautionary measure, but was later reported to be feeling better.[11] The following day, it was confirmed that professional dancer Lauren Oakley would take Dowden's place during her absence from the show.[12] However, after week 7, it was confirmed Dowden was withdrawing from the series due to a foot injury, and Gill would dance with Oakley for the remainder of the series.[13]
In 2019, Dowden headlined her own tour, 'Here Come The Girls', with fellow professional dancers Dianne Buswell and Chloe Hewitt.[14]
Dowden has also taken part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour since 2018. In 2020, she performed with a celebrity partner for the first time on tour, her 2019 partner Karim Zeroual.
In September 2024 Dowden announced her appearance at the 2025 'Dancing With The Stars Weekend' at the Celtic Manor Resort in Newport.[15]
Personal life
Dowden is married to Ben Jones, her professional dance partner, and together they run the Art in Motion dance school in Cradley Heath, West Midlands.[16]
Dowden has suffered from Crohn's disease since she was a child. In May 2019, she spoke out about the effect the condition has had on her career as a professional dancer.[17] In October 2020, the BBC aired a documentary about Dowden's experiences of living with the condition.[18] The documentary won a BAFTA Cymru award.[19]
In May 2023, Dowden announced she had been diagnosed with grade IIIbreast cancer.[20] She underwent a mastectomy.[21] In July of that year, Dowden revealed that she had received a second diagnosis of "another type of cancer", leaving her requiring chemotherapy and unable to take part in Series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing later that year.[22] In August 2023, Dowden announced that she had contracted sepsis after finishing her first round of chemotherapy.[23] In November 2023, she revealed she had sustained a broken foot and therefore would play no further part in that year's series of Strictly, having made a cameo earlier on in the series, without her wig.[24][25] A month later, Dowden was hospitalised with a blood clot on her lung, which was described as a side-effect of her cancer.[26][27] In February 2024 she reported that her latest check up showed "no sign of the disease", although she wouldn't get an "all clear" for five years, and said she was looking forward to dancing on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing. In August 2024, however, she revealed that tests had shown abnormalities in her breast following a routine check up.[28]
On 26 October 2024 Dowden was rushed to hospital, following a collapse after her routine, during the live Strictly Come Dancing competition. Dowden was still recovering in the hospital the following day and it was confirmed that her partner in the show, JB Gill, would perform with Lauren Oakley in the following week's show.[30] She withdrew from the series on 4 November 2024, citing a foot injury.[13]
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