Strictly’s Amy Dowden styles shaved head at Pride Of Britain Awards

Carol Vorderman and Ashley Banjo will host the Daily Mirror Pride Of Britain Awards.
Amy Dowden arrives for the Pride of Britain Awards at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London (Doug Peters/PA)
PA Wire
Ellie Iorizzo8 October 2023
The Weekender

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Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden decided to “brave the bald” at the Pride Of Britain Awards while undergoing treatment for breast cancer.

The 33-year-old announced in June that she had undergone a mastectomy after discovering she had stage three breast cancer, and would be unable to have a celebrity partner on the BBC show this year.

Her arrival on the red carpet, wearing a pink off-the-shoulder dress with an enlarged silk bow complete with a pink breast cancer awareness pin, comes a day after her surprise appearance on the Strictly Come Dancing live show to read the voting terms and conditions.

After her appearance, she wrote on Instagram: “There are no words to describe the pure joy and happiness I felt last night being back with my @bbcstrictly family.

“It is their love and support that gave me the courage to decide last minute to step out and brave the bald.”

Meanwhile former Strictly Come Dancing professional Oti Mabuse appeared on the red carpet wearing an Isabell Kristensen studded black dress paired with black Jimmy Choo court heels and a Tyler Ellis bag for the occasion.

It comes after the 33-year-old announced in August that she is expecting her first child with husband Marius Iepure, after the couple decided to stop trying to conceive because it “just got too much”.

Other Strictly Come Dancing stars included actor Layton Williams in an oversized hat and his professional partner Nikita Kuzmin, former British tennis number one Annabel Croft and her dance partner Johannes Radebe, while Irish TV presenter Angela Scanlon matched her grey ensemble with professional partner Carlos Gu.

Former Strictly stars and married couple Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec also appeared on the red carpet after announcing the birth of their first child in July.

Meanwhile the stars from Good Morning Britain were out in force, with presenters Kate Garraway, Susanna Reid, Ben Shephard, Charlotte Hawkins, and meteorologist Laura Tobin posing on the red carpet.

Love Island star Laura Anderson, who gave birth four weeks ago, also appeared on the carpet alongside the ITV2 reality stars Maura Higgins and Georgia Harrison who recently saw her ex-boyfriend Stephen Bear jailed on revenge porn charges.

Girls Aloud stars Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh also both arrived for the awards ceremony on Sunday evening, wearing a burgundy strapless number and a white one-shouldered dress, respectively.

The group was formed on TV show Popstars: The Rivals in 2002 and went on to have hit tracks including Sound Of The Underground and The Promise, for which they won a Brit Award, alongside Cheryl, Nadine Coyle and the late Sarah Harding.

TV stars Carol Vorderman and Dancing On Ice judge Ashley Banjo will host the Daily Mirror Pride Of Britain Awards, set to air on ITV at 8pm on October 12.

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