Amy Dowden "really struggled" after being forced to withdraw from 'Strictly Come Dancing' last year.
Amy Dowden's time with JB Gill on Strictly Come Dancing was ended early due to injury
The 34-year-old dancer returned to the dancefloor on the BBC series following her breast cancer diagnosis in 2023 but was heartbroken after a foot injury brought her time on the show to a premature end.
In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, Amy said: "I was devastated, and I really struggled. Because 'Strictly' was my aim since the words: 'Amy, you've got cancer'. That was the goal – to get back on the dancefloor – and that's all that was in my mind for 20 months. I think I would have struggled with it in any year, but for it to happen then..."
Amy says her injury was particularly galling as she knew she had the potential to reach the final with her celebrity partner, JLS singer JB Gill, as her replacement Lauren Oakley ultimately did.
The Welsh star said: "I had been given such an amazing partner in JB. I knew I had the potential with him to go all the way to the final.
"For my journey to be cut short in the way it was... I'm not going to lie: I was heartbroken, absolutely gutted. But I'm so glad that JB was able to continue and Lauren did such an incredible job."
Dowden – who also suffers from Crohn's disease - is set to appear on the upcoming 'Strictly' arena tour and is refusing to dwell on her medical misfortunes.
She said: "I'm feeling so much stronger. I'm at the gym, I'm working with my physio team, I'm having dancing lessons. I was just very unlucky – could have happened to anyone. But typically, if anything is going to go wrong, it happens to me.
"I learn from it every time. I try not to let it define me. And I try to bounce back."