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Amy Dowden

Amy Dowden MBE
Dowden in 2023
Born	(1990-08-10) 10 August 1990 (age 33) Caerphilly, Wales
Occupation	Professional dancer
Spouse	Benjamin Jones ​ (m. 2022)​
Partner(s)	Gino Gabriela[1] (2002–2008) Tom Parkes[2]

Amy Dowden MBE (born 10 August 1990) is a Welsh professional ballroom and Latin American dancer from Caerphilly, Wales, best known for her appearances on the BBC One television show Strictly Come Dancing. Dowden joined the series in 2017, and in 2019, she was a finalist in the seventeenth series with TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Dowden and her partner Ben Jones are former British National Latin Dance Champions. She has the Guinness World Record for the most back-Charleston kick-steps in 30 seconds (2022). She has a twin sister and an older brother.

Early life[edit]

Dowden was born in Caerphilly, Wales and began dancing at the age of eight.^[3] Alongside her partner Ben Jones, she became British Open Latin Dance Champion in 2017, and the couple were the first all-British pair to win the championships in over 30 years. Other successes include becoming British Dance Federation Champions, English Closed Champions and Welsh Closed and Open Champions.^[4] Dowden is also a four-time British National Finalist, and a World Championship semi-finalist, and she remains one of the highest-ranking Ballroom and Latin American professional dancers in the UK.^[5]

Strictly Come Dancing[edit]

Dowden is the first Welsh professional to take part in the BBC's Strictly Come Dancing series.^[6]

Highest and Lowest Scoring Per Dance

Performances with Brian Conley[edit]

In 2017, Dowden appeared as a professional dancer in the fifteenth series, partnered with comedian Brian Conley. They made it to week 5 of the competition.^[7]

• Red number indicates Brian & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard

Performances with Danny John-Jules[edit]

Dowden returned for her second series in 2018 where she was partnered with Danny John-Jules. The couple were awarded the first 10 score of the series by Darcey Bussell for their Jive to "Flip, Flop and Fly" in week 5. They were eliminated in week 8 after losing a dance-off to Graeme Swann and Oti Mabuse; their elimination came days after controversial bullying allegations, with tabloids reporting that John-Jules had reduced Dowden to tears.^[8]

• Blue score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Riberio
• Green number indicates Danny & Amy were at the top of the leaderboard
• Red number indicates Danny & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard

Performances with Karim Zeroual[edit]

In 2019, Dowden appeared as a professional dancer in the seventeenth series of the show, partnered with CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual. The pair received the first perfect 40 of the series for their Jive in week 11.

• Blue score awarded by guest judge Alfonso Riberio
• Green number indicates Karim & Amy were at the top of the leaderboard

Performances with JJ Chalmers[edit]

In the eighteenth series, Dowden partnered with television presenter JJ Chalmers. They finished in 6th place, reaching musical week. The scores for this series were out of 30.

• Blue score was awarded by Anton Du Beke who filled in for Motsi Mabuse as judge for weeks 4 and 5.

Performances with Tom Fletcher[edit]

In the nineteenth series, Dowden partnered with musician Tom Fletcher. On 26 September 2021, it was announced that both had contracted COVID-19 and would miss the following week's show.^[9] On 21 November 2021, in week 9 of the competition, they were the eighth couple to be eliminated, after a dance-off against Rhys Stephenson and Nancy Xu.^[10]

• Blue score was awarded by Cynthia Erivo who filled in for Craig Revel Horwood as judge for week 9.
• Red number indicates Tom & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard

Performances with James Bye[edit]

In the twentieth series, Dowden partnered EastEnders actor James Bye. They were eliminated in week 6 of the competition, finishing in 11th place.

• Red number indicates James & Amy were at the bottom of the leaderboard

Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special[edit]

She danced with CBeebies presenter George Webster for the 2022 Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special.

Dance tours and other professional engagements[edit]

In 2019, Dowden headlined her own tour, 'Here Come The Girls', with fellow professional dancers Dianne Buswell and Chloe Hewitt.^[11]

Dowden has also taken part in the Strictly Come Dancing Live! tour since 2018. In 2020, she performed with a celebrity partner for the first time on tour, her 2019 partner Karim Zeroual.

Dowden announced her appearance with Jones at the 2022 'Dancing With The Stars Weekend' at the Celtic Manor ResortinNewport.^[12]

Personal life[edit]

Dowden is married to Ben Jones, her professional dance partner, and together they run the Art in Motion dance school in Cradley Heath, West Midlands.^[13]

Dowden has suffered from Crohn's disease since she was a child. In May 2019, she spoke out about the effect the condition has had on her career as a professional dancer.^[14] In October 2020, the BBC aired a documentary about Dowden's experiences of living with the condition.^[15] The documentary won a BAFTA Cymru award.^[16]

In May 2023, Dowden announced she had been diagnosed with grade III breast cancer.^[17] She underwent a mastectomy.^[18] In July of that year, Dowden revealed that she had received a second diagnosis of "another type of cancer", leaving her requiring chemotherapy and unable to take part in Series 21 of Strictly Come Dancing later that year.^[19] In August 2023, Dowden announced that she had contracted sepsis after finishing her first round of chemotherapy.^[20] In November 2023, she revealed she had sustained a broken foot and therefore would play no further part in that year's series of Strictly, having made a cameo earlier on in the series, without her wig.^[21][22] A month later, Dowden was hospitalised with a blood clot on her lung, which was described as a side-effect of her cancer.^[23][24] In February 2024, she revealed her latest check up shows "no sign of the disease" although she won't get an "all clear" for five years. She also says she is looking forward to dancing on the next series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Dowden was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2024 Birthday Honours for services to fundraising and raising awareness of inflammatory bowel disease.^[25]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Amy DowdenatIMDb