Amy Dowden breaks foot shortly after finishing cancer treatment

Last week the professional dancer, who is from Caerphilly, but runs a dance school in Cradley in Dudley, celebrated her last round of treatment for stage three breast cancer.

Dowden, 33, was unable to have a celebrity partner on Strictly this year following her diagnosis and subsequent cancer treatment, but had said she planned to make an appearance on the dancefloor on the programme.

However, her new injury had put paid to that goal.

Sharing a photo of herself in a boot, she wrote on Instagram: “Not the week I was hoping for since finishing chemo.

“Port out but unfortunately gained a boot for a fractured foot.

“Absolutely gutted and heartbroken as this means the plans for me to dance in the Strictly ballroom this year are no longer possible. This is what has kept me going the past few months.

“2023 is certainly not my year, roll on 2024 I say!”

She added hashtags such as “#noluck” and  “#myluckwillsoonchange”.

The Caerphilly-born dancer, who joined Strictly in 2017, announced her diagnosis in May after finding a lump in her breast in April, the day before going to the Maldives on her honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.

In October, the Strictly star made a surprise appearance on the BBC One show, appearing from behind a golden fringe wall, sporting a shaved head and white glittery dress, to read the show’s terms and conditions.

Later, in an episode of the spin-off programme It Takes Two, Dowden said the support of fellow dancers and staff on the show allowed her to feel “liberated” to not wear a wig on the show.

She also went without a wig when she appeared at the Pride Of Britain Awards and the Stand Up To Cancer live show at the Francis Crick Institute, taking place in celebration of a decade of the appeal for Cancer Research UK.

Since her diagnosis and subsequent mastectomy and chemotherapy, the dancer has raised awareness of breast cancer and posted regular treatment updates on her social media platforms.