Amy Dowden's family history prompts 'rollercoaster of emotions'

Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden has said learning about her great-grandmother's death from breast cancer at the age of 39 has made her "even more grateful for the NHS" after her own surgery and recovery.

Dowden told Radio Times magazine she became "quite emotional" while uncovering her family history on the BBC show Who Do You Think You Are?

The programme also saw her delve into rumours of a family murder and learn why her grandfather was put up for adoption, despite having loving parents and siblings.

Dowden, who sent her parents daily updates during recording of the show, said she had anticipated "plenty of drama" but not such a "rollercoaster of emotions".

Over the course of the show, Dowden learned Louisa, her paternal great-grandmother, died in 1921, aged 39, from breast cancer - which she herself was diagnosed with in 2023.

The former Latin Dance champion, from Caerphilly, was 32 when she was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer.

Dowden underwent chemotherapy and subsequently had two mastectomies, the most recent in November last year.

Her cancer treatment, as well as her experience of living with Crohn's disease - which she was diagnosed with at the age of 19 - have been documented in the TV shows Strictly Amy: Cancer And Me, and Strictly Amy: Crohn's And Me.

Dowden was visibly shocked when medical historian Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster told her about Louisa's cancer.

"It took me back to being diagnosed with cancer myself," she said.

"Agnes told me that cancer was incurable back then, so Louisa had to endure breast cancer without access to chemo or any modern medicine.

"It made me even more grateful for the NHS."

"Thinking about Louisa leaving behind her husband Bill and six young children, I got quite emotional on camera.

"But I'm fine with that - when I was having treatment, a nurse told me to have a good cry and not hold my emotions in."

One piece of family history which Dowden was aware of, but did not fully understand, concerned her great-grandfather's decision to put his youngest child, Frank - her grandfather - up for informal adoption.

Bill served in the Royal Navy during World War One and had hoped to return to work as a miner when the war came to an end.

But the collieries were privatised in 1921, and the new owners of the mines halved workers' wages - leaving many miners and their families dependent on soup kitchens.

Louisa died during the struggles at the colliery and their youngest son, Frank, was adopted by a nearby family.

Dowden said: "Bill had one of the hardest jobs there was. He was a grafter, just like my dad, but he couldn't feed all six kids, so Frank – my dad's dad – went to a loving family who lived nearby."

Dowden also turned detective in the episode and delved into why her great-aunt was shot in 1888.

Dowden's on-screen journey explored her Welsh roots, from Ceredigion to Carmarthenshire and New Tredegar.

"We just kept going further and further into Wales.

"I think it's made me even more proud to be Welsh, and really cemented that I am Welsh through and through."

"Part of me did think that there might have been a touch of Mediterranean in my blood, but no. Wales is through my blood."

Dowden, who is set to return to Strictly Come Dancing this autumn, marks her 10-year anniversary with the show next year.

While the dancer has been obliged to spend some time away from the hit BBC One show due to her health, she believes Strictly, and dancing, helped save her life.

"It's more than a show for me because it helped me get through the darkest days.

"A lot has happened to me in a decade. From joining the show to getting married [to fellow dancer Ben Jones], to my cancer diagnosis, to getting back on the dance floor. Dancing is, for sure, my saviour."

Two years on from the Cancer and Me documentary, she says she is ready to try something different and is interested in doing more presenting.

"My dancing was taken away from me when I was ill, so I'm making the most of that now - but I love talking to people – I'm a chatterbox. A people person.

"I'd like to talk to people about their experiences, rather than talking about what I've been through."

Who Do You Think You Are? airs on Tuesday 2 June at 21:00 BST on BBC One and iPlayer