Sara Davies tells Amy Dowden she made it her mission to befriend her on Strictly

Professional dancer Dowden has not been partnered with a celebrity on the latest series of the show as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.
Sara Davies, centre left, and Amy Dowden, centre right, will compete against each other in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip (BBC/STV/PA)
Charlotte McLaughlin7 November 2023
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Sara Davies has said she made it her “mission” to have Amy Dowden as a friend when she appeared on Strictly Come Dancing.

The pair, who first met when Davies appeared as a contestant on Strictly in 2021, will compete against each other on Tuesday in BBC Two series Celebrity Antiques Road Trip.

In a new clip for the show, Davies says: “Did you know I actually made it my mission to make you my friend?”

The Caerphilly-born dancer, 33, responded saying: “We just hit it off though, didn’t we? We supported each other and I loved seeing you and having our debrief on a Friday in the studio.”

Davies said: “No, no, no, it wasn’t just … I was making a beeline! I decided that the only person I was really hoping to make friends with that I hadn’t was Amy Dowden.”

The 39-year-old businesswoman had been partnered with Slovenian dancer Aljaz Skorjanec when she was eliminated during the 19th series of BBC One show Strictly.

During Celebrity Antiques Road Trip, Davies and Dowden will begin their journey in Jesmond, Newcastle upon Tyne, before travelling through antique shops in Whitley Bay, Langley Moor and Hartlepool.

Harrogate will be the setting for their auction finale and they will see cranberry finger bowls, boudoir chairs, Georgian shoe buckles, and a set of bronze dragon heads along the way.

Antiques experts Natasha Raskin Sharp and Steven Moore will be on hand to help them as the celebrities drive in a 1985 Ford Cortina.

Professional dancer Dowden has not been partnered with a celebrity on the latest Strictly as she undergoes treatment for breast cancer.

She has been detailing her health on social media, including having a mastectomy and chemotherapy, as she tries to raise awareness about the condition.

Celebrity Antiques Road Trip airs on Tuesday at 7pm on BBC Two and BBC iPlayer.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in