Strictly's Amy Dowden reveals how she found out her great gran also had breast cancer in her 30s

Published: 00:42, 26 May 2026 | Updated: 00:47, 26 May 2026 Celebrities appearing on Who Do You Think You Are? frequently find themselves floored by facts from the lives of their long-gone relatives. And Amy Dowden received a particularly hard blow when she was reminded of her own battle with breast cancer, after learning her great-grandmother died of the same disease a century before. The Strictly Come Dancing professional, 35, broke down in tears on the BBC programme when she was told her relative, Louisa, died aged 39 in 1921. While she is now cancer-free, Ms Dowden endured chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and a number of severe side-effects including sepsis following her own diagnosis in 2023 – when she was 32 years old. 'It was a rollercoaster of emotions,' she said of being told the news by medical historian Dr Agnes Arnold-Forster on the episode, which will be shown next Tuesday. 'It took me back to being diagnosed with cancer myself.' Ms Dowden said that, as there was no effective treatment back then, her great-grandmother had to 'endure breast cancer without access to chemo or any modern medicine'. She added that the story made her 'even more grateful for the NHS'. Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden found out her great-grandmother had breast cancer in her 30s, mirroring her own health ordeal, as part of Who Do You Think You Are? Ms Dowden was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, when she was 32 years old, enduring chemotherapy, a double mastectomy and severe side-effects including sepsis Speaking to Radio Times, she revealed how she became 'quite emotional' thinking about how Louisa left behind her husband, Bill, and six young children. Ms Dowden discovered a lump just one day before her honeymoon with fellow dancer Ben Jones and the treatment forced her to take time off from the BBC show. She said: 'I live life very differently, you don't know what's around the corner. Every day is a privilege.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.