Amy Dowden, 33, RETURNS to Strictly amid the battle against breast cancer… as she thanks co-stars for their support and admits she ‘dreams about dancing again every night’

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden returned to the BBC show for one evening on Sunday amid her battle with breast cancer.

The professional dancer, 33, shared a carousel of images from her comeback on Instagram on Sunday, showing her co-stars after attending the pre-filming of the results show’s opening number “a few weeks ago.”

In the sweet photos, Amy, who bravely shaved her head after her hair started falling out due to chemotherapy last month, beamed alongside friends Dianne Buswell, Nikita Kuzmin, Katya Jones, Carlos Gu and Nancy Xu.

In a caption, the star praised the ‘Strictly Family’, writing: ‘It’s moments like these that I need right now, to break me out of my now-at-the-moment reality and I’m all @bbcstrictly for this grateful… I ‘I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so much support’.

In addition to her sweet message to her co-stars, Amy admitted that she “dreams of dancing again every night” and said that watching the show is “escapism.”

Sweet: The professional dancer, 33, took to Instagram on Sunday to share a carousel of images from her comeback, showing off her co-stars after pre-filming the results show’s opening number a few weeks ago ‘ had attended

An honor: In a caption, the star praised the ‘Strictly Family’, writing: ‘It’s moments like these that I need right now, to escape me from my now-at-the-moment reality and I’m the whole @ bbcstrictly so grateful for this. ..I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so much support’

Amy looked radiant in the series of images of her return, which came from the pre-recorded dance portion of the weekly results show.

In her caption she wrote: ‘Come along tonight for the first results show of the series! The standard this year is insane. What a great two live shows so far…

‘I was lucky enough to be there a few weeks ago for tonight’s opening number and all I can say is WOW!…

‘What another incredible song made by @jasongilkison. It’s moments like these that I need right now, to help me escape my now-at-the-moment reality and I’m so grateful to all of @bbcstrictly for this. I hope I get back to the gang soon…

‘There is no textbook or right/wrong way to deal with your cancer journey. Everyone deals with it in their own way. I’m so lucky to be surrounded by so much support that I don’t take for granted, and days like this are what keeps me going.

“Every night I dream of dancing on that floor again, but right now I am my fellow professional’s proudest and biggest cheerleader. Who is your favorite so far?! #strictlycomedancing #forevergrateful #strictlyfamily #support’.

Amy was diagnosed with the disease in May and is undergoing chemotherapy treatment. She said watching the show has been a real “escape” from her reality and that she is counting down the days until she can return.

Amy recently broke down in tears as she shaved off her hair after chemo caused her locks to fall out in clumps. She took the brave step of cutting off the rest of it herself because it’s the only thing she has control over.

Aww: Amy looked radiant in the series of images from her return, which came from the pre-recorded dance portion of the weekly results show, as she cuddled up to Nikita

Sweet: She was seen with Carlos Gu in one of the throwbacks

Together: She thanked her ‘Strictly family’ for their support

In a video on her Instagram page, her loved ones can be seen taking turns cutting off a few strands of her hair before shaving off the rest. She explained: ‘Taking control – the hardest step yet. I did my best to save it…

“I know it’s just her, but so much has been taken from me in the past few months that I don’t feel like I’m Amy anymore…”

‘I miss every possible aspect of dancing. I just wanted to maintain my identity with my hair and I tried to tell myself that it wouldn’t work. But I would be afraid of the pain of waking up to the shredding every day.”

She continued, “I have not been able to take control of this journey so far, but as you can see from some of my loved ones, I have taken courage and CONTROL…

‘It will take some time to get used to it and learn to love and embrace it, but I am focusing now – not on the hair I am losing, but on the hair I am going to get back and the happy dancing, tea lover who talking way too fast while rolling, every rrrrr still in there, with or without her!’

Illness: The Strictly Favorite was diagnosed with breast cancer in May and started chemotherapy after doctors discovered she was also battling another type of cancer

Looking ahead: The dancer, who was forced to sit out the 2023 series of Strictly, said she wanted to reclaim her identity after missing much of her life as a dancer (pictured in January 2023 during the Strictly live tour)

Amy – who is now half way through her chemotherapy treatment – ​​added: ‘Since taking control I feel like I can now see the finish line…

‘For me this was an obstacle that I couldn’t even think or talk about. I did it and I’m also over half of the chemotherapy!

I feel powerful and positive! To everyone on their own journey, whatever that may be, I send love, strength, power and courage…

‘I found the courage to take this step and I’m proud of it… (There are some fun before and after videos/reels coming up, but I wanted to share the truth and hopefully help others, and bring normalcy to a beautiful barren head) .’

It comes after Amy admitted she had a ‘meltdown’ over her hair loss.

Emotional: Last month, Amy called cutting her hair “the hardest step yet” when she posted a heartbreaking video of herself surrounded by loved ones as she got her hair cut