Amy Dowden collapses backstage at Strictly Come Dancing after 'falling ill'
(Image: Getty Images for Deichmann)

Amy Dowden collapses backstage at Strictly Come Dancing after 'falling ill'

by · Manchester Evening News

Strictly Come Dancing fan-favourite Amy Dowden was rushed to hospital after collapsing backstage during last night's main show.

The 34-year-old Welsh dancer from Caerphilly, South Wales, returned to the series full time this year after battling breast cancer.

But minutes after her performance with JLS star JB Gill on Saturday night, she is believed to have fallen ill and was attended by paramedics and taken away in an ambulance, the Mirror reports.

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A spokesman for Amy said: "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern. We request Amy's privacy in matters of health is kindly respected."

An East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said: "We were called just after 9pm on Saturday to attend a medical emergency at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood. An ambulance was sent to the scene. One patient, an adult female, was transported to Barnet Hospital for further care."

Earlier Amy and JB Gill glided their way to a score of 32 with their foxtrot to Dancing In The Moonlight by Toploader.

Strictly Come Dancing's JB Gill and Amy Dowden
(Image: Amy Dowden Instagram)

Du Beke thought it was a "super duper performance" while Revel Horwood thought Gill could have gone further with the scarecrow character.

Amy was thrilled to return to Strictly full time this series.

Speaking in August, she told Prima: “Strictly has changed everything, from the opportunities it’s given me – I’ve got to do tours, travel the world, buy a house, open a dance studio – to the people it’s brought into my life... I’ve been in life-or-death situations, so dancing a one-minute-30-second routine for entertainment isn’t quite the same as walking into chemotherapy.”

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