Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden was left in tears after uncovering a heartbreaking family discovery.
The Welsh dancer was diagnosed with cancer in May 2023 and bravely documented her health journey (Image: BBC)
Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden was left fighting back tears after uncovering a heartbreaking family secret during her appearance on BBC’s Who Do You Think You Are?
The beloved dancer delved into her ancestry on the popular genealogy programme, where she made a series of shocking discoveries about her family’s past.
Among them was the devastating revelation that a 13-year-old relative had been murdered, prompting Amy to seek out the truth behind the tragedy.
However, it was another discovery that truly struck a chord with the Welsh star. Exploring her dad’s side of the family after learning her grandfather had been adopted, Amy uncovered the story of her great-grandmother Louisa, who passed away young, leaving behind several small children.
The emotional revelation hit particularly close to home for Amy, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023, aged 32, after finding a lump before her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones.
Upon learning that Louisa had died in 1921 at just 39 years old from breast cancer, Amy was visibly overcome with emotion, reports Wales Online.
“Oh my goodness,” Amy said, speechless for a moment. “That’s made me a little bit emotional.”
Pausing to compose herself, she tearfully shared, “She was only in her 30s. I wonder if there’s a link between her and me.”
Amy continued: “What an awful few years they went through, the war and then this cancer diagnosis, never mind then the Lockout with the collieries.
“My mum had breast cancer and witnessing her go through it, that was tough. Just the thought of the family having to go through what we went through, and it would have been worse then.
“But also, knowing the timing as well. Poor Bill, losing his wife to breast cancer and then having six children.
“Also, she had one of the same type of breast cancers as me, and I’d love to find out more, did she get surgery, did she have treatment? Was there a chance of cure?”
She added, “Knowing what she went through is horrible, but I’m lucky, I’m still here; it took her life, so it’s a bit raw.”
Hearing of the treatment that wouldn’t have been available for Louisa, with cancer at the time known as an incurable disease, Amy shared: “I can’t imagine, I know what it’s like to have a cancer diagnosis, but I’m a lucky one, I’ve been able to come out the other side.”
Louisa’s six children were aged between 11 years old and just one year old, including Amy’s grandfather Frank, who was informally adopted after her death.
“You instantly just feel for these children,” Amy said. “To lose their mum, the girls grew up without a mother and probably also had to become a mother really to the younger siblings.”
She continued, “It’s heartbreaking to see a family go through losing a mum. I couldn’t imagine what it was like to be told you’ve got cancer, and knowing then that was a death sentence.
“I’d imagine Louisa and Bill had to make a very difficult decision, most likely together, about my grandfather Frank, and that must have been absolutely heartbreaking.”
Amy Dowden’s episode of Who Do You Think You Are? airs on Tuesday 2 June at 9pm on BBC One and iPlayer, with Zoe Ball’s episode airing tonight.