Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has been making the most of life and has been enjoying a holiday abroad with her husband and friends, sharing a snap to Instagram

Amy Dowden shared a celebration of one year since her MBE and gave fans a holiday update (file)(Image: Dave Benett, Alan Chapman/Dave Benett/Getty Images)

Amy Dowden has expressed her heartfelt gratitude as she looked back on the remarkable progress she’s made since her cancer diagnosis a few years ago. The beloved Strictly Come Dancing professional dancer defiantly faced breast cancer, going public with her condition after receiving the diagnosis in May 2023.

Amy recounted discovering a lump in April of that year, just a day before jetting off on her honeymoon with fellow dancer and husband Ben Jones. It led to her undergoing a single mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy. By February 2024, Amy joyously shared that she was free from any signs of the disease following medical tests.

She later celebrated her return to the much-loved dance series Strictly for its milestone 20th-anniversary season last year.

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A post shared by Amy Dowden MBE (@amy_dowden)

Now embracing life with open arms, the dancer has been making the most of every moment, recently taking a holiday with Ben and their friends.

While soaking up the sun on a relaxing break, Amy took to Instagram to post photos of herself lounging in a bikini. She captioned the images: “What a day! Forever grateful!”

She added: “Two years ago I was doing everything I could to be alive with chemo ahead! Now I’m living every day to the fullest! Forever grateful.”

In a follow-up post, Amy couldn’t hide her astonishment upon receiving some “super exciting news”, sharing another snapshot to her Instagram story. Her post saw her share a major announcement could be on the way.

Amy excitedly penned alongside her photo: “l’ve just found out some super exciting news that I can’t share yet but can’t wait to.”

She added: “Honestly can’t believe it. FaceTimed mum and dad and their reactions were just so cute.”

Amy has been open with her cancer battle and shared an update to Instagram (file)(Image: Joseph Okpako, WireImagevia Getty Images)

A post to her Instagram yesterday (June 25) saw Amy share further snaps from her time in the sun. She wrote: “Walking on sunshine.”

Fans were delighted by the Instagram posts from the Strictly star, with some wanting her to bring the blissful weather back home.

One fan joked: “Bring that sky back to Wales please.” Another shared: “So gorg!!! Hope you’re having the BEST time.”

A third shared they had been holidaying in the same area just last week and that they had a brilliant time. They wrote: “I was there last week. Fabulous place. Have a great time.”

It comes as Amy celebrated a year since she was given an MBE. A post to Instagram from Amy reads: “A year ago it was announced on the Kings birthday honours list I would be receiving an MBE for my fund raising and raising awareness for inflammatory bowel disease!

“Such an honour and one that still feels surreal! Congratulations to all those announced this weekend on this year honours list. I will forever do all I can to keep raising awareness and fundraising for both inflammatory bowel disease and breast cancer.”