Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has shared that winning the latest series of the Channel 4 challenge show Celebrity Hunted has helped her believe she can “achieve anything” following her difficult battle with cancer. The 36-year-old dancer secured a joint victory alongside her Strictly partner Carlos Gu, sharing the win with actor Brian Conley and his daughter, comedian Lucy Conley.
The finale saw both pairs successfully evade an elite team of hunters—comprised of police and military personnel equipped with drones, helicopters, CCTV, and advanced cyber forensic technology—before escaping on an extraction plane from a beach in north Wales. This marks the first time in the show’s history that two pairs have successfully completed the challenge without being captured.
Reflections on the Victory
- Amy Dowden: Stated that while cancer took much from her over the last two years, the experience restored her confidence and provided the belief that she can achieve anything.
- Brian Conley: Described the win as “amazing,” noting he had initially hoped only to survive a few days on the run.
- Lucy Conley: Described the final moments as “pure joy and shock,” noting that nobody believed they would succeed.
- Carlos Gu: Emphasized that the hard work was made worthwhile by the desire to raise awareness for cancer, performing for those watching at home.
The competition served as a reunion for Dowden and Brian Conley, who were originally paired together on One dance series in 2017. For Dowden, the victory follows a challenging period that began in May 2023, when she was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer at age 32, just one day before her honeymoon. She has since been open about her treatment journey, which included a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and fertility treatment, the latter of which induced an early menopause.
Dowden, who also manages Crohn’s disease, returned to the ballroom in 2025 and previously detailed her health struggles in the documentaryStrictly Amy: Cancer And Me. Reflecting on the final moments of the show, she recalled the excitement of boarding the extraction plane, stating, “We got on to that plane, I was just like, ‘celebrate!’ I grabbed the champagne!”
The participants noted that their fellow Strictly stars had little faith in their chances, with many assuming they would be caught early. However, the pairs remained focused on their goal of supporting the Stand Up To Cancer campaign, proving their critics wrong by successfully evading the hunters until the very end. The report also notes that spoiler warning: This story contains details of the winner(s) of Celebrity Hunted. The report also notes that in aid of Stand Up To Cancer, the programme sees celebrities go on the run while an elite team of hunters tries to track them down. The report also notes that and has been candid about her experiences of the disease, including having a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment, the Welsh dancer made a return to the ballroom floor in 2025. The report also notes that they’ll pick me off, I’m an old man, you’ve got to do this for us’. The report also notes that i’ll never experience any feeling like that.
Important Details
- The report also notes that gu said: “It felt great.
- The report also notes that we knew we were doing this not just for us but for everyone going through it who might be watching at home.
- The report also notes that that would be OK, he said: “We thought we’re just gonna have fun and as long as we get a few days under our belt.
- The report also notes that turned around and he was there. That was crazy, i was so nervous and then I got on that plane.
Comments