Strictly Amy Dowden's poignant motivation behind her fight to stay on the show

Dancer Amy says she's loving every second of being back on the BBC show after her breast cancer all-clear

Pro dancer Amy Dowden says she was determined to win last week’s dance-off – because it is only being on Strictly that has made her feel herself again after her cancer fightback.

Amy, 34, whose celebrity partner is JLS singer JB Gill, had to take a year off from the show after being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer last May. She was given the all-clear in February. She said: “I never truly felt really like me since my cancer journey, until I was back on Strictly and working with my lovely JB. That’s what I found hardest going into the dance-off – I’m not ready to have this taken away from me. I had it completely taken away from me last year and I’m loving being back. I don’t want it to stop. I’m not ready to finish my journey because I’m loving every second. I knew JB could get through the dance and could absolutely ace it.”

The pair’s jive to Hey Ya! by Outkast landed them in the bottom two, along with ex-England footballer Paul Merson and his partner Karen Hauer, but they were saved by the judges. And Amy says she receives touching messages every week from people inspired by her recovery. She said: “Honestly, it’s the most wonderful thing. I get so many messages about my smile. I do always look back and think, ‘Gosh, this time last year I was having chemo, this time last year I was in hospital with a blood clot’. What a difference a year can make. I get messages every day from people saying, ‘I’m going through chemo and you’re my hope’, or, ‘Because of you I’ve checked myself and I found a lump’, or some-thing like this. I’m just grateful to be back and be in the position I am.”

Last night, on Strictly’s Halloween special, JB and Amy performed a foxtrot to Toploader’s Dancing in the Moonlight dressed as scarecrows. But dad-of-two JB, 36, insists the judges don’t scare him. “All the judges have opinions,” he began. “I’m a novice in a world where they are experts. I obviously want to please them but I’m not scared of their comments. Their comments are great. I want to critique because I am a novice.”

JB rose to fame on ITV talent show X Factor, where JLS was formed with Marvin Humes, 38, Aston Merrygold, 36, and Oritse Williams, 36. It was the same year Liam Payne first auditioned. The pair remained friends - and JB opened up about his heartache over his tragic death. “We met him when he was first starting his journey before One Direction because he was originally a solo artist in the same year we were on the show. He would follow us boys around and would want to be in JLS to be honest. When he got knocked out at bootcamp we told him to keep going and keep working hard and you will get your chance and he did. It’s incredibly sad but I look to the silver lining that he was able to do what he set out to do and what he loved to do, which is to sing and share his voice with the world.”

Calling on the music industry to take better care of child stars like Liam, JB continued: “The people who are representing and championing the group have to look after the group. I’ve never really understood that about our industry. Artists are sometimes seen as commodities or assets. It sounds bad but it makes no sense not to protect them. We have to change the way we look after people.”

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