Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden will compete in Channel 4's Celebrity Hunted starting August 3, 2026, after revealing that support from her husband and co-star Carlos Gu kept her from quitting dance following severe health setbacks.
The 35-year-old Welsh dancer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and underwent chemotherapy along with two mastectomies.
After returning to the BBC show, an ankle injury forced her out of the 2024 season, pushing her to an emotional low point where she considered hanging up her dancing shoes permanently.
Support System
Dowden credited her husband, Ben, and fellow dancer Carlos Gu with providing the tough love needed to restore her confidence.
The experience forged a strong bond between Dowden and Gu, who stepped in to support her after having lost his own grandmother and cousin to cancer.
"It was Carlos and Ben, my husband, who gave me that tough love, that motivation to make sure I didn't," said Dowden.
She emphasized that their intervention was crucial to keeping her career alive during her recovery process.
"If it wasn't for them, I truly was gonna hang up my dancing shoes," she said.
She noted how dark that period was before she realized the extent of her burnout.
"It was only then I really knew how low I was in my life," Dowden added.
Celebrity Hunted Challenge
The dancers teamed up for Celebrity Hunted, a reality series filmed in aid of Stand Up To Cancer where stars attempt to evade expert investigators across the United Kingdom.
While on the run, Dowden allowed cameras to film her receiving regular chemotherapy injections to depict the reality of living with the disease.
"It was important to show the reality of cancer," she said. She explained that the diagnosis alters life permanently, far beyond the initial treatment phase.
"Unfortunately, a cancer diagnosis is like a life sentence," Dowden said. She expressed hope that displaying her continuous treatment on television would spark important discussions in households nationwide.
Her partner Gu initially had some reservations about the physical strain of the show before agreeing to join her.
"Then I mentioned it to you [Carlos], I do think you were a bit wary to begin with," Dowden said.
She jokingly added that the intense demands of the challenge quickly tested his patience on set.
"I think he's a friend that just trusts me, and then I think he wanted to kill me actually after day one," she said.
Gu admitted he was initially shocked by the experience but was driven by his personal connection to the cause.
"I was like, 'What's she done to me'," Gu said. He affirmed his commitment to supporting his friend through the grueling production.
"But I know how much she wanted to do it, as a friend, and I want to do it for her," Gu said.
He highlighted how personal losses in his own family motivated his participation.
"But also I have family members who suffered from cancer who didn't survive, so I think it's a great cause for me to do something… I'm absolutely glad and I'm pleased that I did it," Gu added.
The duo explained that surviving the stress, lack of sleep, and tight conditions brought them closer than ever.
"We started off as very close friends… But we finished Hunted as family. It brought us so much closer together.
We fight, we make each other cry – you know, we've shared so much together," Dowden said.
Gu agreed that navigating the intense pressure helped solidify their connection. "Our friendship has really been challenged throughout the show… But we survived," he said.
He stated that the reality challenge ultimately reinforced their mutual trust.
"So I think Celeb Hunted really cemented our friendship, which I will cherish forever," Gu said.
When asked if there were disagreements during filming, Gu admitted arguments were frequent due to fatigue. "All the time!
Honestly. The amount of arguments we had doing the show is relentless," he said.
Dowden noted that good moments were still scattered throughout the tough journey.
"There were highlights there amongst it," she said. Gu concurred with her assessment of their overall experience.
Dowden noted that the show's charitable cause made the intense difficulty worthwhile.
"It's got to be a hard show, it's for Stand Up to Cancer, it can't be easy," she said.
She recalled one specific petty dispute caused by exhaustion and hunger.
"I think we had the biggest argument over carrot cake," Dowden said. She detailed how paranoia over being spotted by investigators triggered the argument.
"Which in any normal situation in life, we would not be arguing over.
It was him wanting to go to the shop to get carrot cake, but I thought we were at risk, and I didn't want him to go and buy carrot cake in a shop," she said.
She explained how physical deprivation impacted their moods while on the run.
"You don't sleep properly, you're not eating enough, so you're then hangry, tired, emotional, and then what happens then is – you're just snapping at each other," Dowden said.
Reflecting on her earlier career struggles, Dowden recounted how cancer devastated her emotional state.
"I returned to Strictly, but I was feeling all the effects of chemotherapy, cancer, and I had no self-confidence," she said.
She repeated her gratitude toward her husband and Gu for helping her recover her drive to dance.
"I'd been pulled out of Strictly and I was ready to hang up my dancing shoes, but it was Carlos and Ben, my husband, who gave me that tough love, that motivation to make sure I didn't," Dowden said.
She re-emphasized that she would have walked away from her dancing career entirely without them.
"If it wasn't for them, I truly was gonna hang up my dancing shoes. It was only then I really knew how low I was in my life.
I was at an ultimate low," she said. She credited them with protecting her passion from being taken by her illness.
"My husband and Carlos were the ones who got my confidence back, ensured I could do it, made sure that cancer didn't take my dancing away from me along with everything else," Dowden said.
She praised the rare dedication her loved ones showed during her darkest period.
"There's not many people who will sacrifice themselves to help a loved one like that," she said.
Gu explained that his immediate empathy stemmed from his own painful losses to cancer.
"The main reason we're so bonded together is the moment she had cancer, I felt it because my granny and my very close cousin, they both died from cancer.
That was the moment that made me realise, 'Oh, I really love her'. I was devastated," Gu said.
He described how his connection with Dowden stood out from typical adult relationships.
"For me, as an adult, we encounter so many people and you just know if you're going to click with this person or not," Gu said.
He recalled how Dowden helped him settle in when he first arrived in the country.
"I clicked with Amy on so many humans level.
When I first came to the UK, apart from the friends that I already had when I was in China, Amy was one of the people who really helped me.
She gave me the feeling that she supported me, she helped me with everything. It wasn't just words, she used her own actions," Gu said.
He added that her continuous kindness made him determined to support her during her illness.
"Just the way she treats me and the way she talks to me and the way she helps me, that makes me know that this is going to be my friend for life.
So of course I was going to be there for her when she needed me the most. I love her," Gu said.
Dowden reflected on the false assumption that finishing cancer treatment means the battle is over.
"I think people think that once you've rung the bell, your cancer journey is over.
I was stupid enough to think that, but it really, really isn't," she said. She restated her view on the long-term impact of a cancer diagnosis.
"Unfortunately, a cancer diagnosis is like a life sentence, basically. I hope me showing this starts conversations with people watching at home," Dowden said.
Gu admitted that seeing Dowden receive medical treatment while on the run was emotionally taxing.
"It was hard to see Amy have this treatment, especially when it came in our journey," he said.
He noted how physical fatigue compounded the hardship of watching her ongoing care.
"The longer you stay on the run, it's hard because you don't have enough sleep, you don't have good food, you're always constantly on the run," Gu said.
He concluded that Dowden's resilience ultimately inspired him to push past his own limits during the production.
"But what kept me the most sane, actually, is Amy.
She was the only reason that I coped in the game because there's a time I was like, 'I think I'm done, I can't do it anymore.
I'm struggling emotionally and physically'," Gu said. He also noted that Dowden gave him faith to persevere regardless of how difficult conditions became.
"She gave me the faith that I'm going to do this no matter how hard it is," Gu said.
Celebrity Hunted premieres Monday, August 3 at 9 p. m.
on Channel 4.
Dowden has also confirmed her return to Strictly Come Dancing for the 2026 series alongside new hosts Emma Willis, Josh Widdicombe, and Johannes Radebe.
