Strictly’s Amy Dowden ‘can’t find the words’ after friend dies from blood clot
By Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association Entertainment Reporter
Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has shared a heartfelt tribute after her “darling friend” died from a blood clot on her brain just days after giving birth.
The Welsh dancer, 35, explained to her 723,000 followers on Instagram that she had been quiet on the platform after struggling to make sense of the news that close friend Bex had died.
Dowden shared a carousel of photographs of the two together with an emotional post praising her friend for being the “kindest” and “always selfless”.
Her post, which was shared on Sunday, said: “On Friday, I got a call from my darling friend Bex’s mum, Anne, to tell me that Bex had a blood clot on her brain.
“I still can’t quite find the words or make sense of it. How something like this can happen to someone so fit, so healthy, so kind… a truly good soul.
“Bex was the kindest person, always putting others before herself. Even in the end, she was giving, an organ donor helping others right until the very end.
“She had just given birth to her perfect baby boy the day before, completing her beautiful family with her little girl, three, and her true love, Sean.
“I feel so lucky to have had her in my life.
“My sister said earlier how at Blackpool you were always more worried about me than your own dancing. That was you. Always selfless. Always thinking of others.
“Bex, I’ll keep you close always. I promise to look out for your darling mum, dad, Sean, and your beautiful babies.”
According to the NHS, a blood clot to the brain is when “one of the blood vessels that supply your brain with oxygen-rich blood becomes blocked” causing the flow of blood to be interrupted. This means the brain cannot do some of its normal functions properly.
Dowden was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and subsequently underwent chemotherapy and a mastectomy.
She revealed in November that she had to go through another mastectomy and said on an Instagram post that she had not received a new cancer diagnosis and could “expect a straightforward recovery”.
