Overview
- The 35-year-old dancer posted that she is resting at home with a lymphatic drain and would watch the BBC show rather than attend the live broadcast.
- In an earlier hospital update, she said the operation went well and thanked family and friends for looking after her.
- Strictly colleagues including Claudia Winkleman, Joanne Clifton and 2025 contestant Karen Carney shared supportive messages on her Instagram.
- She marked an emotional milestone by sharing video of herself ringing the hospital bell, writing that it happened “two years ago today.”
- Diagnosed in May 2023 and later reporting no evidence of disease in 2024, Dowden says she plans to rejoin her Strictly family once she has healed.