Strictly Welsh star Amy Dowden reveals dance partner will spend Christmas with her

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed that her dance partner, Carlos Gu, will be spending Christmas with her this year. Carlos Gu said that spending the festive period with Amy and her family last year was the "best Christmas [he] ever had" and will be celebrating it again with them this year.

The duo were talking on BBC Radio Manchester to promote their upcoming Reborn show, which will see the pair tour all over the UK, including in Birmingham, Glasgow, London and Cardiff. During the interview, Carlos revealed that he spent five days with Amy and her family, who are from Caerphilly, over Christmas last year.

"Carlos spent Christmas with me last year," Amy said. "And he's back again with the family". Carlos added: "The best Christmas I ever had." When asked why it was so good, he said: "In China, we don't really spend Christmas. In the past three years, I wasn't really spending I wasn't really spending Christmas because I didn't really understand how Christmas [is] like here.

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"But then Amy invited me last year, I said 'definitely' and then the family - we spent five days together. And her mum, her dad and her sister, it's just like family to me. We were playing the games, it was like a proper, best Christmas I ever had."

Amy explained that Carlos was an "adopted member of the family". She said: "And I'm sure there will be some dancing round the house this year, because last year during my chemo and my cancer journey, I didn't really have the energy. But this year, we're going to showing everybody what's to come with Reborn."

It comes after the Welsh dancing star issued a health update. While speaking to BBC Breakfast hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay on Wednesday morning, December 18, alongside fellow professional dancer, Carlos, she revealed that she had recovered from an injury.

The 34-year-old missed out on having a celebrity dance partner on the BBC One dance competition show in 2023 amid her treatment for stage three breast cancer. In September of this year, she returned for the 20th anniversary series where she was partnered with JLS singer JB Gill until she pulled out of the competition earlier in the month following an "insufficiency stress fracture" on her shin.

The professional dancer was then replaced by Lauren Oakley, with the pairing making it to the final but missing to top spot to comedian Chris McCausland and his professional dance partner Dianne Buswell. Viewers were delighted when Amy returned for a group performance during the grand final on Saturday night, December 14. For the latest TV & Showbiz news, sign up to our newsletter.