Amy Dowden ‘wishes to pair with Ben Shephard’ amid new year’s eve disappointment

Amy Dowden has openly admitted to feeling ‘bitter’ when observing other people’s 2023 highlights on New Year’s Eve, reflecting on her ongoing battle with breast cancer.

The 33-year-old Strictly star, diagnosed in the spring of 2023, discussed her emotions entering 2024 and acknowledged experiencing ‘jealousy’ when seeing others’ celebratory posts.

On Wednesday’s episode of Lorraine, Amy, who discovered a lump in her breast just before embarking on a belated honeymoon to the Maldives with her husband Ben last April, she shared her sentiments about the new year.

Having revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in a May 2023 Instagram post, Amy underwent a mastectomy in July.

Regularly updating her health journey on Instagram, she faced additional challenges, including battling sepsis during her chemotherapy treatment and dealing with a blood clot in her lung.

Speaking on Lorraine in an update on Wednesday she candidly said: ‘After New Year’s Eve when you wake up and see everyone’s posts – I was actually quite bitter.

‘My life changed on the day of the diagnosis but cancer changes you forever, it’s changed me as a person.

‘I’ve lost a boob and my hair, I’ve had sepsis, been into shock, blood clots, I’ve broken my foot. I saw everyone doing these nice reels and I was quite jealous to be honest.’

Amy is hoping to return to Strictly this autumn and has already revealed her hopes for her next pairing.

She said on the daytime TV show: ‘I’d like to be paired with Hugh Jackman or Ben Shephard I’ve heard he has twinkle toes!’