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.
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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.
